A Great Big Joke - A Story from the Fallout
by Dexiedoodle
Summary: The Brotherhood of Steel are new to the Commonwealth, but their mission is very serious and dangerous. If only Paladin Danse could get the mysterious Vault Dweller to understand...
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

Paladin Danse tried to concentrate on the sounds that his power armour made as he walked along the dusty road instead of on the lady that was several paces ahead of him on point.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

She had taken to skipping every three or four steps all the while emitting a low tuneless humming sound which he had begun to find very irritating about an hour ago but it had not ceased despite his initial objection. She had not even turned her head to acknowledge that he had spoken to her, but he knew that she was grinning as the humming became more pronounced. The skipping had started only a few moments ago.

The humming and the skipping weren't the worst of it. She walked with a casualness that made his teeth grind, her rifle cradled in her hands as if she held a baby rather than a tool of war. She was _on point_ but it seemed that she was not taking this mission seriously, as if she didn't take any mission seriously. He doubted that she even saw half of the things that she needed to be observing while she walked through the highly dangerous Commonwealth Wasteland. There were many hazards and he wondered, not for the first time, how in the name of steel she had survived so long out here when she had exited her vault only seven months ago, if she were to be believed. But he held his tongue.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

She wasn't under his command. She was a private citizen and for the moment, a valuable Brotherhood of Steel asset. She had helped him retrieve the Deep Range Transmitter, she had bought Haylen a myriad of tech items, each of which Haylen made high pitched squeals over and she had cleared Cambridge of ferals after Rhys had mentioned, rather impolitely, that she could have been helping out more.

She knew the wasteland very well and had many contacts including that of the Commonwealth Minutemen and the mayor of Goodneighbour. She was a valuable asset, albeit an undisciplined and insubordinate one. He shook his head. She wasn't under his command. She had turned him down flat when he had asked her to join the Brotherhood of Steel after the successful Arcjet mission. She had in fact laughed in his face. Not just laughed, she had doubled over in a deep belly laugh that had tears streaming down her cheeks and had culminated in her snorting in a very unladylike fashion. He had been very affronted by the whole display.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

He rolled his eyes when he heard that the humming had changed to crooning, it was indistinct but he definitely heard a few words now. It was going to be one of those days.

If he were to be honest with himself he would admit that she was helpful and very skilled in many areas, more skilled than any normal vault dweller should be. So skilled that he found himself having to re-evaluate her at every turn. The rifle she held was not some bauble. She knew how to use it and use it effectively.

He remembered with a faint smile the moment she had found Rhys kicking the impenetrable safe he had uncovered, in frustration when he could not open it. She had condescendingly moved him aside, squatted down in front of the safe and with nothing but a bobby pin and a flathead screwdriver, opened it up in moments. She had rooted around in it for a moment, withdrew a carton of 10mm rounds for herself and then told Rhys the rest of it was all his.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

She called Rhys 'grumpypants' which only fuelled his dislike of her more. She called Danse 'PD' which he wouldn't really mind except he needed to maintain his authority while at the Police Station. Haylen & Rhys _were_ under his command and they depended on him to be in control and decisive and the civilians pet names seemed to be more mocking than respectful. She liked Haylen though and when she dropped by the police station to check on them periodically, she would gravitate towards Haylen and they would talk like they were best friends… she called Haylen 'bestie'.

The woman in front of him suddenly stopped dead in the road. Danse stopped also, raising his laser rifle and his body on alert. She started nodding her head rhythmically and she raised her fist in the air. She sang a single line of verse from a popular song and bobbed up and down a couple of times at the knee before setting off again at her casual saunter that set his teeth on edge. He wanted to growl in frustration at her antics but he knew it was no use. He relaxed a bit and began walking after her again his eyes scanning the roadside warily.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

Little puffs of dust sprang from the ground with each of his steps. He sighed.

So much about her didn't add up and she was not forthcoming with information. She was from a vault, but not from a vault. She had military like skills but took nothing seriously and had no discipline, something all soldiers should have at least a little bit of. She was outspoken and argumentative. She always had that crooked little amused smile on her face, like the whole world was huge joke and that she was the only one who got it. She had an agenda of her own but seemed aimless, wandering the wasteland with no course. She knew innumerable people but always seemed to be alone, save that dog once and the robot butler she had been with once or twice. Who travelled the wastes with a butler?

He glanced in her direction and regretted it immediately. She had taken her rifle in a kind of embrace and was dancing around the road with it, singing about being 'as corny as Kansas in August' and 'as high as a flag on the forth of July'. He sighed again and walked on in her wake. It was definitely going to be one of those days.

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

He thought back to the moment he first saw her, the moment she descended from on high and into his life, disrupting his mental stability and challenging his patience to its very limits. That bloody horrible night….

 **Chapter 1 – That Bloody Horrible Night**

Max should have stopped for the night, but instead she trudged on in the gathering shadows. Codsworth hovered behind her chatting away about the filthy state of various items that littered the Commonwealth and admonishing their owners for not maintaining their possessions with proper care. _He_ certainly wouldn't let _his_ possessions disintegrate into rust, though the extent of his possessions were limited to a little black bowler hat that Max had found in an abandoned house and had placed on his dome. She had thought it was funny, but he had been so moved by the gesture that she had been compelled to apply some adhesive to the hat to make sure that it would stay in place and did not get lost in the future.

She had resolved to make it up to the vertibird crashed on the overpass before she stopped for the evening. Vertibird crashes were a valuable cache of salvage, she owed the downed aircraft for the three full sets of T45 Power Armour that she had accumulated and a generous supply of ammunition, military garb and body armour. She shunned the army gear herself and had donned a set of old but well maintained motorcycle leathers with Kevlar inserts. She had owned a set when she was younger and had owned a bike herself. She remembered on a night of overindulgence in certain beverages of the alcoholic persuasion, she had stated that in the event of an apocalypse she would wear road leathers because they were easy to come by and highly protective. Oh, the irony was not lost on her.

She had worn enough uniforms in her time anyway, so the army fatigues were distributed among the settlers to add protection in the event of the many inevitable attacks on the various settlements that dotted the Commonwealth. She had added her own versions of tough leather armour to her ensemble and while she wasn't bulletproof (much to her chagrin on more than one occasion) she was protected well. She did wear a military style helmet though. She had painted it black, finding its customary white lit up her head a little to invitingly.

She carried a semi automatic double barrelled shot gun on her back (her own personal modification, she was surprised no one in the old world had thought of it before), a suppressed 10mm pistol at her hip and she carried her baby, the 50 cal. sniper rifle known as "The Last Thing" in her arms. She loved this weapon. It reminded her of days gone by and it reminded her that she was always safe. Or at least as safe as one could be in the wastes of Old Boston. The weight of it in her arms was comforting rather than a hindrance.

She glanced down at her pipboy, it's dull light telling her she was closing on her target for the night. She veered direction to the east, following the overpass above and searching the gathering dark for the service elevator she knew was somewhere around here. She walked on, using her pipboys light to illuminate the darker recesses. Codsworth found it shortly after and softly called her over.

He had begged her to take him out of Sanctuary, out for an adventure. He had been alone for so long and though he longed for company, which he had in the settlement now, the company he needed most was his family. She was always away, searching for signs of her son or helping the Minutemen or trading or one of the million other things that she needed to attend to in this new world. She had warned him that it would be dangerous and even with his trepidation at being damaged, his need for the companionship of his mistress was greater than his fear.

He had proven to be quite useful, much to Maxs surprise. He utilised his domestic tools with deadly accuracy as demonstrated on a pack of wild dogs and a small band of misguided and now very dead raiders. He was quite exhilarated by it all. He was good company, though he did tend to prattle on a bit.

They rode the elevator up to the overpass and scouted back along it until they came upon the wreckage of the Vertibird, hanging precariously from the side. The wreck itself was a bust, there was nothing of interest in it at all save a few unspent rounds of ammunition, but standing nearby, missing only a couple of pieces, was a suite of T60 Power Armour.

"Yusssss!" Max gave a jubilant fist pump and held her hand out for Codsworth to add his fist bump with one of his three limbs. He had used the limb equipped with a saw once. It had been the bloodiest fist bump in history.

He touched her extended hand gently with his little claw and chuckled to himself. "Yes, yes, very good mum!"

"Wait 'til I get this back home. Fix it up and give it a sweet paintjob…" She mused, patting the armour fondly, it even still had its fusion core. Nate had worn this class back when he had been in the army, back when she'd met him at Anchorage, back when she'd been a fresh faced rookie… almost two hundred and twenty one years ago. Her mind shuddered back from the thought and she blacked out the image of Nates handsome face as quickly as it had formed there. She took a deep breath and plastered the smile back on her face, knowing it had slipped for a moment in her grief, though Codsworth had noted the change in the air.

She looked down at her pipboy, deciding to lock into Diamond City Radio for a little music to lighten the mode. Travis only had a couple of dozen songs but it was better than nothing. She raised her eyebrows when she noted that there were more radio signals than there should have been. She tilted her head to one side and flicked the dial over to the new signal 'Military Frequency AF95'. It was on a loop and she had tuned in just as the loop had completed and had to wait for the message to repeat.

"This is Scribe Haylen of Reconnaissance squad Gladius…" the voice began " … to any unit in transmission range. Authorisation: Arcs, Farrow, Nine, Five. Our unit has sustained casualties and we're running low on supplies. We are requesting support or evac from our position at Cambridge police station"

The recording came to an end and looped back to the start again. Max looked out towards Cambridge, peering hard into the dark. She could see a faint glow of lights in the vicinity of the police station in the south-east and for a moment saw the flash of red that indicated laser fire. This wasn't one of those old messages that had been on repeat since the bombs dropped over 200 years ago, this one was brand new and they were under attack right now. Max looked longingly back at the Power Armour and shook her head, she would travel faster without it. She ran to it, skidding to a stop and extracted the fusion core and stuffed it into one of the pockets of her belt.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, mum" Codsworth queried, uncertainly.

"They're in trouble, buddy," She replied with a quick smile of reassurance. "Of course, I'm sure. Let's go"

She lifted her rifle and set off at a quick but careful trot. It was full dark now and she used the glow of the police station and the steadily growing sound of combat to guide her. Once back on the ground and following the old roadway, her pace quickened and she made it to the outskirts of Cambridge in short order. It didn't take long for her to find out what was attacking the soldiers as a feral ghoul slithered out from under a dilapidated car and started careening blinding towards her. She smashed it to the ground with the butt of her rifle and slung it quickly over her shoulder and drew her pistol. 50cal. ammo was too rare to waste on these pitiful creatures if you had an alternative. The ghoul stumbled back and then fell to the ground in a heap as a bullet pierced its temple. Max slipped into the darker shadows nearer the buildings and pressed herself against the wall and then moved quietly into the closest doorway. The police station should be behind the buildings on this block and she wasn't keen on walking the long way around through the square.

She moved though the old shop towards the rear of the building scanning the dark interior with her pistol. She kept her pipboy covered not wanting to draw attention to herself from any other ghouls that might be inside or close by, the last thing she needed was to be swarmed herself. A stroke of luck revealed that the wall halfway up the back stairs had caved outwards revealing the Police station entrance below.

"Codsworth." She whispered to her companion. He swivelled his optic sensors in her direction but remained silent as he had learned to do. "Watch the stairs, don't let anything get to me"

Codsworth swivelled back to his observation of the dark and empty shop.

She looked down at the scene below, drew her rifle and focused on her new targets… Dozens of ghouls, all ravening at three soldiers below. The horde congregated though, at the figure in power armour in the center of the compound.

She raised her rifle and began to pick off ghouls one by one. Her suppressed rifle 'pffting' as the projectiles flew and the ghoul targets in the compound falling seemingly without cause. Like shooting fish in a barrel she thought with satisfaction, dropping seven in a row and then reloading to fire again. She had taken down more than a dozen more when she heard a commotion down the stairs and glanced downwards seeing a ghoul rounding the corner in a rush and slamming into the opposite wall before turning its empty gaze up towards her. She drew a quick breath and drew her 10mm again, dispatching the ghoul at close range, but it was followed by another. Codsworth, she thought. She took out the other feral and then leapt from the hole in the wall to the raised verge below.

She hoped he wasn't too badly damaged, she could fix him up later. For now, she joined in the fray on the ground.

* * *

Danse was hard pressed on all sides. He could hear the ghouls scratching, biting and pummelling at his armour as they swarmed him. He flung them off him, but they kept on coming. He had heard Rhys cry out a moment ago and prayed that another of his soldiers had not been killed. He could not even check to see how many of his squad were still with him. He gritted his teeth and ploughed on.

He would not be taken out by ghouls. He refused.

He fought on, sweat pouring from him as he battled inside his suit. He was now in a rhythm of pushing them away and then firing quick blasts at them until he was swarmed under again. On and on it went with no letting up, they kept coming, the noise of the conflict drawing more to them, an endless sea of monsters.

He surged forward knocking them back again and levelled his laser rifle at them again. Two of the beasts dropped in quick succession without him firing a shot, their heads caving in as if by magic. He began shooting and sent quick eyes around the compound to find the other shooter. Rhys was down behind the barricade by the entrance to the station, Haylen was tending him and alternatively shooting at anything that made it by him. She had a laser rifle though, the rounds that were downing the ghouls were projectiles, big ones. The ghouls began to overcome him with numbers again, so he wrestled with them and then heaved them off again.

More fell again before he could raise his weapon and fire, their heads exploding into muck. He caught movement from the side of a building to the left, the one with the hole in the side of it. A lone figure dropped to the ground and disappeared briefly behind the wall before appearing again at the side gate. His attention was captured again by the ghouls clambering at him. He heard an unmistakable sound of suppressed gunfire coming from his six and he watched creature after creature fall as the shots hit true. He fired as well, sending flashes of heat and light sizzling into the horde. He heard a fast reload and more quiet shots fired.

The horde was thinning faster and faster and soon there were no ghouls standing. The compound was filled with the smell of gun smoke, ozone and the stench of rotting flesh. Also, the sounds of groaning, gurgling and moaning as the ghouls that remained alive flailed about uselessly on the ground. Danse turned quickly towards the stranger in time to see her send a quiet 10mm round into the skull of a floundering ghoul at his feet that was clutching at his armoured leg.

"Hi." She said brightly, beaming delightedly from ear to ear. A mere moment before a humongous explosion rocked the police station.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Warm Welcome**

Max turned in surprise towards the mini mushroom cloud erupting in the next street. It sounded very much like a car had exploded. She tucked her 10mm away and started towards the building she had just alighted from, now genuinely worried about Codsworth, when he appeared, hovering in the gap.

"Very invigorating, mum." He pronounced before gliding down the fallen rubble towards her. She met him at the gate and looked him over in concern. He had acquired a new dent on his bulbous dome, but other than that he seemed fine.

"A couple got by you, buddy" She admonished lightly.

"Yes, mum" He apologised sincerely, "there were quite a few more than I had anticipated, I fear. I dispatched them with an automobile. A blue Corvega in a sad state of disrepair, I doubt the owner will miss it." He sniffed disapprovingly.

She grinned and patted him affectionately on his dome.

"Good work, buddy." She congratulated him on his innovation. "With me. Let's meet these new friends."

She turned back to the soldiers and approached the one she thought to be the leader. The one in Power Armour. She heard Codsworth trailing behind her greeting the other two soldiers as he floated passed them.

"Madam... Sir…"

The one in power armour lifted off his helmet to reveal a wary frown and distrustful eyes.

"Explain yourself, citizen." He demanded in an authoritive tone.

She snorted and stopped before him. "Thank you kind stranger for coming to our rescue." She intoned in a deep mocking voice. "Oh, you're quite welcome, large metal man." she continued in her own voice. She gave him a head waggle and cocked an eyebrow at him in expectation.

She heard Codsworth tut to himself behind her.

The frown on the man deepened further. "Your assistance was not required. You were foolish to plunge into the conflict with no warning, you could have been shot."

Her lips hitched up on one side in an amused smile.

"First up Captain Cosmos, You guys asked for help…" She tapped her pipboy for emphasis and noticed him cast a quick look at his people behind her. "Secondly, I didn't just plunge in. I thinned the herd from a covered position first, leaving it only when it was compromised with hostiles. You were too busy dancing with that lot… (she waved her arm around to encompass the piles of bodies littering the ground) to even notice me let alone shoot me. And thirdly. Rude! Didn't they teach you manners in whatever outfit you're with?"

"Here, Here." Codsworth added behind from her. She turned her head and flashed a grin at him, before turning back to the other guy.

The man looked hard at her, his frown wavering a little. She looked back up at him, her lips still turned up in that crooked little smile.

"… and I'm still waiting in awkward silence for that 'thank you', big guy." She added.

"I am Paladin Danse." He began formally. " … on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel and the individuals of Gladius Squad, I thank you for your timely assistance and I also apologise for my _rude_ welcome."

"Hey, no worries man." She beamed, chuffing him on the arm and eliciting a dull clang. "I was in the neighbourhood anyway."

She looked around the compound and noted the dead soldier by the wall and the injured one by the door being tended by the other. They were in a bad way it seemed.

"The message said you were running low on supplies, can I help you out again?" She asked casually.

The Paladin cast another more frustrated look over at his people. He clearly had no idea that a message had been sent into wasteland.

"No, thank you citizen." He replied curtly. "I must check on my people."

He thudded over to his team, leaving Max to her own devices. She wandered through the mass of bodies. She wouldn't loot them, well, not while that lot were watching anyway. She stepped over detached arm and hunkered down in front of the dead soldier. She removed the guys holotags. Dog tags were important to soldiers, Nate had worn his until the day he… well. Her own were in her jewelry box on her dresser before the bombs came down.

She wandered back over to the squad.

"So uhhh…" She began, "I don't mean to intrude on family affairs and all, but I was wondering if, in exchange for lending a hand, my friend and I could bunk down here 'til the morning."

Danse paused for a moment, considering

"I see no issues with that." He said. " As long as you're not disruptive."

She grinned impishly "Sweet. We can have pillow fights and tell scary stories…" She turned and pushed through the doors to the station and continued on " and braid each other hair and snuggle and roast marshmallows…"

Paladin Danse rolled his eyes and immediately regretted his decision as the door closed behind her, cutting off the sound of her voice as she continued to list off her ridiculous intentions. He reached down and helped Rhys to his feet.

"Sir, do you think that's a good idea?" Rhys asked, he looked at the closed door with open dislike.

"We can hardly turn her out into the night after she helped us." Haylen said, more forcefully than she normally would have and eyeing Rhys with disappointment in her eyes.

"She seems harmless enough," Danse replied, "and Haylen is right. She aided us. The least we can do is offer her a bed for the rest of the night and a meal in the morning."

Rhys was led into the building. The woman was sitting cross legged on top of a sleeping bag against the wall, her Mr Handy excused himself as they came in and headed out the door. She watched the trio limp inside and lower Rhys into a chair.

Danse turned and looked down at her as Haylen took over Rhys' care

"You have a Pipboy." He started carefully as he approached her. "Are you a vault dweller?"

She smirked up at him. "Is it time for the bedtimes stories?" She asked before answering. "Yes, I'm from a vault… and no as well. I wasn't born in a vault but I spent some time in one."

His brow furrowed again and she gave an exaggerated frown in return.

"You've also had some type of Military training." He pressed.

"I've picked up a few tips here and there about how to get by in a combat or survival situation…" She quipped back.

He ground his teeth together. She was being deliberately obtuse. Was she actually incapable of answering a simple question satisfactorily?

The robot re-entered the station, an impressive 50cal. sniper rifle swinging from his claw.

"Excuse me sir, don't mean to interrupt." The robot said politely as he intruded in on their conversation. "I found it, mum." He continued to his mistress, releasing the weapon into her grasp. "Now, would you like me to brew you lovely hot cup of tea?"

She smiled affectionately at the Mr Handy. "No Codsworth, thank you. You can shut down for while if you like. I'll reactivate you in the morning"

The robot made an affirmative type of nod and drifted off to an unobtrusive corner before cooling his jet and descending to the floor with a clunk. She made sure he landed with decorum before turning her attention back to the Paladin who had watched the exchange with his seemingly trademark frown.

"You talk to that Mr Handy like it were a human." He observed, a little sourly.

"To me, he is." She responded with a little edge in her voice though her crooked and amused smile was still in place. "Look, it's late. And I've been on my feet all day. You can continue your interrogation in the morning, OK?"

She didn't wait for a response. She adjusted the shotgun on her back into a more comfortable position and curled up into a ball facing the wall, holding the rifle to her like a lover. And promptly went to sleep.

She and the robot had similar shut down systems it seemed. Danse retreated from the woman and joined his squad on the other side of the room. Rhys was well on the mend now that Stimpaks had been administered, he would be almost perfect again when morning rolled around. He cast distrustful looks at the back of the woman rolled up on the floor. Haylen sat by their working terminal, holding onto a set of Holotags.

"You retrieved Keanes tags, Scribe." Danse approved.

"No sir," She replied, nodding towards the strangers sleeping form, "she did."

He glanced back at the woman in surprise. If she wasn't Military, he'd eat his helmet.

"But you did send out an unauthorised transmission." He put on his commanding officer voice and addressed a worrying subject. "Giving out our position. You let the Commonwealth know that we are vulnerable… while knowing that we cannot contact the Brotherhood for support."

Haylen lowered her eyes, accepting the dressing down. "Yes, Sir"

Danse looked over at the woman who had heard that message and turned the tide of their predicament. "In light of the circumstances, however, you will not be punished, though it will be noted in my report".

"Yes, Sir, Thank you sir." She replied again. "If I may sir…"

Danse nodded his head for her to continue.

"The lady seems competent," Haylen continued, "She may yet be useful to us. With Rhys temporarily out of action, might we not explore the possibility of asking her assistance in retrieving the Deep Range Transmitter. It would expedite our communication with command."

"I'll consider it Haylen." Danse replied, noting that Rhys looked unconvinced.

Danse dismissed the remaining members of his squad and took up watch.

'The remaining members of his squad.' When they had arrived in the commonwealth, they were a squad of seven strong and capable members of the Brotherhood of Steel. Now they were just three and floundering in this hostile wasteland.

Brach & Worwick felled by raiders in _his_ misguided arrogance that the Brotherhood were invincible in their ideology and with their superior technology. Yet failing to see the raiders innovation in making effective weapons from scrap and in setting deadly booby traps.

Dawes; Felled by supermutants. Danse closed his eyes in shuddering memory. He hated supermutants.

And now Keane. Feral ghouls in small numbers were of little notice, but when they horded and swarmed, they could overwhelm even the most well equipped of forces and his team were not well equipped. Not anymore. He had led them to disaster and each of their deaths weighed on his conscience. If he lost Rhys & Haylen as well, it would end him.

He looked once again at the stranger, sleeping on top of Keanes sleeping bag. She murmured something in her sleep and rolled towards him. Her helmet, which she still wore in her sleep, clonked on the floor but she didn't wake and she held that rifle to her in a death grip.

Getting that transmitter and calling for reinforcements was the only option available to spare his team and she could help him get it, though he was hesitant to enlist the assistance of a civilian, even one as 'competent' as she. He needed the other two to hold this position and he couldn't go out alone into hostile territory. He ran his hand over his jaw, the scrape of his beard alerting him to his unprofessional appearance and reminding him of their low resources.

He would ask her in the morning for assistance, offer a reward of some kind if she was resistant. He detested Mercs but they were the means to an end… a better end than if they didn't get that transmitter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Previously … In the Commonwealth**

Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud, Vvvvt Thud.

Max listened to Danses heavy footfalls behind her with amusement. There was no stealth when he was around. He was like a great lumbering tank… not at all subtle.

It had been a few weeks since she had met and started helping out the Brotherhood of Steel squad. She came and went as she pleased, dropping off supplies or pieces of tech to her new bestie, giving reports to PD, because he seemed to love reports. Sometimes she dropped in just to piss off Rhys for a while. It was petty, she knew, but it helped to pass the downtime. She had taken to just watching grumpypants as he worked around the compound. Finding an in-the-way spot and just following him with her intent green eyed gaze. It drove him crazy, he would frequently look over at her, growl and then try to ignore her, before looking back at her again.

He had stomped up to her and demanded she stop. She had given him and innocent puppy dog look and pled ignorance to his issue and asking if he wanted to hug it out. He had made a frustrated growling sound and stomped off again.

She smiled at the memory as she strolled along the dusty road. PD was thudding along behind her and she found herself humming a melody to accompany the regular thuds of his passage. She hugged her rifle to her and scanned the roadside left and right.

She liked Danse. He was stick in the mud, but he was civil enough. He was a regular army guy, like Nate had been. All duty and honour and protocol. He appreciated her input but was frustrated at his lack of control over her. He had wanted her to join the Brotherhood but she was not about to go down that path again. He had been insulted by her refusal… she didn't really decline as such, she let her laughter speak for her. She believed that she got her point across.

He was a commanding officer and she was not under his command. He could ask her to so something and she could choose to accept or decline, but he could not order her. It was maddening to him, and she knew it, and she played on it.

He asked her to please stop humming as it was quite distracting. She increased the volume and built on it just to get under his skin. She ended up dancing around in the road before she decided that the joke had run its course.

It had even taken him a day or two to stop calling her 'civilian'.

"I have a name" she had said holding out her hand to shake. "I'm Max."

"Max is a mans name." He had responded in a clipped manner, ignoring her offered hand.

"Yeah, well, Danse is a stupid name." She had retorted.

She smiled again at the memory, his face had subtly changed shades but he gave no other sign of offence. He had called her Max from then on.

Haylen was pretty cool though, Max thought, as she hitched the strap for her shot gun into a more comfortable position on her shoulder. She had spent a lot of time with the plain talking Scribe, which she guessed was the equivalent to a science and medical officer.

Haylen was excited by the tech that she managed to salvage and she was a girl in a predominantly male industry, they had common ground. And she was less stringent that the other two guys, they could enjoy a laugh together. It had not taken long for Haylen to open up to her about … personal stuff. One time, she had been talking about her relationship with her squad members and when she came to describing Rhys, she had looked in his direction with a wistful kind of longing.

Max had dug a little deeper and found that she had feelings for the abrasive soldier (each to their own) but had been rebuffed when she had voiced them to him.

"He's gotta be gay." Max had said in disbelief.

"No." Haylen replied with a blush on her cheeks. "Rhys bleeds Brotherhood, he simply has no time for anything other than that."

"Riiiiiight…" Max said, voice heavy with sarcasm. "Dedicated soldier or not, he's still a red blooded man… with needs. If he's not interested in the hotness of you, then he's probably interested in the hotness of Danse."

They both glanced over at the hotness of Danse, for once out of his Power Armour and furiously typing out his daily report on the terminal, his Brotherhood jumpsuit moulding to his large and muscular frame and his handsome brow furrowed into his familiar frown. They giggled girlishly.

Danse had looked in their direction at the sound and seeing Haylens blush and Maxs bold, almost leery appraisal of his form, looked furiously back at the screen with a soft blush of his own.

They had laughed even more loudly.

The thing she loved to do most, was keep Danse guessing. He had no idea what to make of her. They had resumed their discussion the morning after the assault on Cambridge Police Station and she had proclaimed that she was a lawyer. He had been taken back by it, it was an old world profession that had died with the bombs and he had pressed her but she gave no other info on her experience as a wastelander. Codsworth had backed her up, stating how proud Master Nate had been when she had passed the bar exam and how her certificate had adorned the bookshelf in the living room. Danse looked even more confused. Master Nate? Certificate? Living Room?

Truth was, she had only given up being a soldier to please Nate, to be the mother to his children… and also to put the things she had done behind her and start fresh. If she hadn't, she may have lost herself forever. She had chosen law because she could cross credit many of her military qualifications and finish the degree quickly… and she loved to argue.

Danse was puzzled by her and she could almost hear the cogs grinding in his head as he pondered her. She was a vault dwelling lawyer who could shoot with terrifying accuracy and used her weapons like they were extensions of herself. She apparently held a position of authority with the Minutemen, but wandered the commonwealth alone. If he only knew the half of it…

She would open up eventually, but from what she had garnered from her discussions with Recon Squad Gladius already, she was not entirely sure if they could be trusted ... not the individuals themselves maybe, but the Brotherhood of Steel organisation as a whole. She would see…

Their stance on Ghouls, Supermutants and Synths were very apparent. She shied from it. She had friends and settlers under her protection who were ghouls. She had a kind-of friend who was a supermutant and she secretly helped Synths escape and hide out from the institute with her connection to the Railroad. She had recently learned of a synth detective in Diamond City who may be able to help her achieve some of her own goals. She was going to meet him straight after this little mission tasked to her by the robots of Greygarden.

Danse had started coming out with her, to 'get to know' the commonwealth better with a seasoned guide, meaning her. So far they had dispatched a group of raiders from Oberland Station and another group from the Old Beantown Brewery nearby.

It was how he had learned of her involvement with the Minutemen. A message came in over the ham radio that sat in the foyer of the Police station from the Castle. He had been surprised by the incoming message itself, let alone the title that the caller had given her, 'General'. She had screwed up her nose at the word and told the caller not to call her that. Danse had looked at her speculatively again.

She was also not too sure about the Brotherhoods doctrine on technology and she had argued lang and hard with Danse about it.

"So, you horde technology for yourselves? She had asked, bemused.

"No, we study, catalogue and preserve it." He had answered in exasperation.

"But no one is allowed to use it but you, right?… that's a bit arrogant don't you think?" She had pushed.

The discussion had become quite heated and in the end she had thrown up her hands and walked away in vexation with the bone headed, single mined, indoctrinated dork.

The soldiers didn't bring up the brotherhood mission statement with her again, which she was thankful for. She wanted to like them but they made it a little difficult.

Max and Danse were heading south towards the Weston Water Treatment Plant. Supervisor White had asked if she could do something about the water that irrigated the farming complex, promising fresh produce in return. The farm was a Minuteman protectorate so Max was compelled to assist, though she would have anyway. Danse had looked around the heavily defended complex in something akin to wonder. Greygarden had been a haphazard settlement at best when Max had first come through it. Just the robots and their plants out in the open. She had arranged for the defences and for the settlers to take up residence on the hillside site.

The entire complex was now walled, they were walls of salvage and not pretty but they were defendable. There were four raised sentry posts and several mounted machine gun turrets on the perimeter. The entire top terrace of the site was dedicated to the greenhouse, farm and its Mr Handy keepers. The hillside below was a collection of shacks that housed the human and ghoul settlers. Danse had scowled openly at the ghoul occupants but she had talked to him quite sternly about keeping his prejudices in check.

Max stopped in the road and looked back at Danse waiting for him to catch up.

"Westons around the next corner." She told him before switching to a country bumpkin drawl "Ima gonna mosey on up this here hillock and have looksee at it. Take a load off."

Before he could answer she was halfway up the hill. She snuck a quick look back at him as she neared the top and grinned at the frown that he perpetually wore.

She fell to her belly as she reached the top of the hill and lined up her rifle for a closer look it their target. She groaned audibly at what she saw through the scope. Fucking Supermutants! She should have negotiated for more than a few eares of corn, dammit.

She made a quick count of the big green guys and made her way back down the hill to Danses position.

"OK so, it's not great news, PD." She began as she reached the road, "a group of supermutants have taken up residence… a dozen of the buggers and they have hound with them too." She smirked.

She saw a shadow pass over Danses face, it was fleeting and was quickly replaced by a look of grim determination, but it was there. It wasn't just fear she saw in that look though, it was a genuine pain.

She pretended not to notice and ploughed on "I can take out most of them from the hill," She patted her sniper rifle, "but probably not all, before they figure out where I am. We'll have to take the remainder on out here… your thoughts?"

Danse looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you can track any suiciders first that would be ideal, I am able to take any others on in hand to hand if need be." He bashed on his armours breastplate in emphasis. "But a mini nuke blast will hurt more than I would like." There was that dry humour.

"Right, I'll pick off as many as I can and then fall back to offer fire support to you on the road… deal?"

"Deal." He replied with a small rare smile of his own.

"This is gonna be so much fun." She squeaked before turning and scampering up the hill again.

Danses lips twitched into another little smile at her antics before he put on his helmet and drew his laser rifle, waiting for the Supermutants to round the bend. Dreading it.

She lined up her first shot and exhaled slowly as she clocked the suicider, a mini nuke strapped to its wrist. The creature fell uselessly into the water that flooded the whole front of the compound. The second beast stumbled a little before he fell backwards into one of the open tanks below. And so it went on. Three… four… One of them suddenly turned in her direction, catching on to her location and began to bellow at his tribe, pointing and stomping… Shit, she thought, that was faster than I thought. She held out on moving though, she needed to thin them out more. Five…. Six…

"Danse!" She shouted down to him urgently, "you have inbound… Seven Hostiles!"

She dropped her rifle on the hill and drew the shotgun off her back and ran to Danses side, slipping and sliding precariously down the hillside.

As she went to take up a position slightly behind him, she didn't see or hear the hound bounding down the hill after her in the commotion of her own noisy descent. It rammed into her hard and shunted her off her feet as she came to a stop and then it rounded back on her prone body quickly, its jaws wide and dripping with yellow foam. She lifted the gun fast and fired. The shotgun boomed in her hands and the hounds head all but exploded all over her, raining gore.

She rolled out from under the hounds heavy body and staggered to her feet, ran her hands over her face, clearing the hot blood and flesh from it and looked to her companion. Danse was already fully engaged and she ran headlong into the fray. He had dispatched two with his laser rifle as they had rounded the corner but two more stood back firing round after round from cobbled together pipe rifles. The other two were the up close and personal types that battered Danses Power Armour with broken boards and a tire iron.

Max sprinted towards the two shooters. She knew from experience that in the case of supermutants, the closer you were the more effective the shot was. Too far away and shooting them only made them mad. She zig zaged towards them, making an even harder target for the clumsy shooters before skidding along on her knees and driving the shotgun barrel into the gut of the closest mutant. She fired creating a messy crater in its gut and fired again as it fell just to be sure.

She was too slow to rise and face the other and felt a .38 round rip through her shoulder. She gasped in pain and instinctively reached for the wound. The mutant chambered the next round and prepared to fire at her again but was hit with a flurry of laser fire and disintegrated into a pile of ash.

Max turned unsteadily towards Danse. He lowered his Laser rifle and raised his hand to her to indicate the all clear, the two mutants he had taken out hand to hand were dying at his feet in the dust. He raised one of his feet and started to step towards her when she noticed the slight movement from the ground.

A frag grenade rolled slowly from the hand of one of the downed creatures… she drew breath to shout a warning… Too late.

A ball of fire erupted between them.

 **AN: This is heaps of fun to write, I have no idea where this is going but I'm sure it will be OK. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Sweet Dreams**

She lay in the dirt, splashes of light danced before her eyes and high pitched tones rang in her ears. The grenades explosion had knocked her off her feet and flung her back several feet and she was, understandably, a little dazed. She shoulder stung horribly as she struggled to her knees and then to her feet with a wobble in her equilibrium.

She blinked to clear her wavering vision and looked about desperately for her companion. He had been right on top of the explosive when it had gone off and he had been knocked back by it too. She saw his power armour casing laying unmoving on its back in the roadway. She stumbled towards it, fighting off dizziness and came down on her knees next to him.

"Danse!" She called urgently, her voice hoarse, "Danse, wake up."

She clanged on the armour with her knuckles, she couldn't help him while he was encased in there.

"Danse…!" she called louder, tapping again "You have to open up, I can't …" She pried at the helmet with a grunt, knowing it was useless. He needed to open it from the inside.

"I can't do anything…" She whispered to herself, helplessly.

The armour made a strained humming sound and the back struggled to open into the ground. It elevated with painful slowness and Danses inert frame thumped onto the dirt underneath it. He was out cold, coming to only long enough to push the vital button that would release him.

Max dragged him out from under the Power Armour with relief and then quickly went over his body for damage. His nose was bleeding freely, but there was nothing else that she could see right away. She pulled back his eyelid with one hand as she dug into one of her pockets and jabbed him with a stimpak with the other. His warm brown irises weren't in view at all, having rolled up into his head.

She couldn't leave him in the road out in the open like this, they needed shelter. But there was no way she could lift him on her own to move him. He was six foot three and weighed in the vicinity of about two hundred and twenty pounds. She was strong but not quite that strong. She looked about for a solution when her eyes fell on the armour laying on the ground next to her… it wasn't fitted to her, but she should be able to use it. Shouldn't she?

She lay on her back and shimmied under the armour and hoisted herself up into it with difficulty, she couldn't get into the helmet with her own on, so she pulled it off her head roughly and dumped it on the road. She made it into place and had to hold herself rigid so as not to fall out again. Damn you gravity, she thought.

"Please don't be biometrically tagged… Please don't be biometrically tagged…" She prayed quietly to herself as she depressed the button at her left thumb. She held it down and waited… "FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" She shouted in frustration, before she felt the Armour slowly closing and lowering her to the ground behind her. She took a deep breath to calm herself, it wasn't tagged just stuck for a second on the hard ground. Once it was properly closed, she lay on her back in the dust as the systems engaged with a beep.

She sat up and got clumsily to her feet. She had never been in T60 armour before. It was a little more complicated and advanced than the T45 she had trained in so long ago and different again from the X01 she had back at Sanctuary. She familiarised herself with the newer controls and then gathered up her discarded helmet and shotgun, Danses laser rifle and then Danse himself, lifting him with care. She set off towards Westons. She would come back for her rifle after she saw to Danse, it was unlikely that it would be found under the dried bush that she had tossed it under as she had run down to the road.

She approached the plant with caution, but the supermutants had cleared it themselves, sending everyone out to confront them, not even leaving one single guard behind. Stupid, she thought.

She splashed through the flooded compound to the entrance of the administration building, where she set Danse down with gentle hands on the concrete steps. She took Danses laser rifle off her shoulder and opened the door quietly. A quick recon showed the building to be deserted, the Mutants choosing to build their own unstable shacks outside rather than utilise the intact and dry building. So Stupid. She thought again. The FEV might make them big, strong and resilient, but it certainly didn't improve their IQ's.

She went back to claim Danse and sourced one of the tidier old offices to hole up in. She cleared a space on the floor and laid Danse in it before walking to the corner of the room and exiting the power armour. She noted the blood smeared on the inside from her own shoulder and felt the wound with her good hand and winced. Her hand came away bloody as she had expected it would. She dug into her pocket again and administered a Stimpak. It was fine, she'd check it later. Danse was more important.

She knelt by his side and checked him over properly this time. She unbuckled and unzipped him from his Brotherhood jumpsuit and pulled the hood off his head, blinking in surprise at the mass of slightly overlong but tidy ebony hair that it covered. She had never seen him without the hood. She had thought he had a shaved head like Rhys.

"Huh…" She mused, running her fingers through it looking for head injuries. She found none, but marvelled again at the silky strands in a now artfully dishevelled state. She wiped the blood from beneath his nose. He was more good looking than she had first thought.

She eased the jumpsuit off him, followed but his boots, checking him over as she did, concluding that he was only concussed from the explosion, thanks to his armour and the Stimpak would limit and then repair and damage. She folded his jumpsuit and dumped it on the floor next to him, leaving him in his underwear & socks. She put his boots by the door.

She left him to sleep it off, while she jogged back to the hill to retrieve 'The Last Thing'. It lay where she had dropped it. She took it up, gave it a quick once over and then jogged back to her slumbering partner. She tidied up the room a little and set out their supplies to take stock. They had enough food and water between them to last a couple of days, she had two more Stimpaks and Danse had two of his own, they each had a Radaway and a Rad-X. She had 2 mags of 50cal, 3 clips of 10mm and a dozen 12 gauge shells and there were half a dozen fusion cells for Danses rifle. With the ammo that was already in their weapons, they were in pretty good shape, considering one of them had a hole in their body and the other was unconscious.

She looked at Danse as he murmured in his sleep, he turned his head and muttered something, his brow wrinkling for a moment threatening to frown. She gave a brief smile and started to tend her own injury, stripping off her armour and unzipping her leather jacket. She eased it off her shoulder, which was still seeping blood but was better than it had been. She held up her jacket noting the twin holes in the front and back. At least the bullet went right through and she wouldn't need to dig it out.

She threw her jacket onto an obliging hat stand by the door and sat down on the desk. She pulled her dirty white singlet over her head and took off the thread bare bra beneath as well. Both were stained, wet and sticky with her blood. She laid them on the desk and wiped the shoulder wound down with clean water. She could almost see the stimpak doing its work, the wound slowing closing up on its own. She'd need another hit for it to heal enough for her to use her shoulder effectively.

Once clean, she used a little of the precious water to rinse some of the blood from her top and bra and jacket and left them all to dry on the hat rack. She made sure Danse was comfortable and still breathing well. Before pulling on his oversized jumpsuit, so she didn't have to explore the place topless. She drew her 10mm and stepped out into the hall.

The building was in pretty good condition, all things considered. She wandered the halls systematically gathering all that was useful as she went. From a terminal she saw that the pumps had stopped and the lower levels of the plant were flooded. She would have to travel down when Danse was back on his feet and secured once again inside his tin can. She would need someone to watch her back while she worked to get the pumps going. Everyone knew that where there was water, you could be damned sure there would be mirelurks.

She returned to the office and set down her spoils. It was a good haul. She'd even found a fusion core. She shucked up the sleeves of Danses jumpsuit and lowered herself down on the floor across from him, her back leaning against the old desk. She chuckled quietly to herself as her eyes wandered over his sleeping form. He looked peaceful in his tank top, briefs and socks. His face smooth of frown lines and with that shock of dark hair, he was a very handsome man. Tack onto that, his lean and muscular body and he was downright sexy as hell. It would be a shame when he suited up in his armour and his perpetual frown again.

He muttered something in his sleep and turned his head. His fingers started to twitch on his right hand and she grinned… he was dreaming. She had never seen him sleep before, he was always on watch or sequestered elsewhere when everyone bedded down at the Station. She watched for a little while as he began to move about more and more. The grin slipping away as he began to become more desperately vocal and he began to whimper.

"Oh no…" She whispered sadly.

She'd seen this before, too many times next to her in her own bed in the old world, before the bombs. Nate had done the same thing. She herself had been haunted by the things she'd seen and done but Nate's PTSD was more entrenched in him… It seemed to be a soldiers burden, another horrible scar from the harsh reality of war.

Danse began to violently thrash about, his voice straining as he saw his own horrors in his head. Sweat began to bead on his forehead and across his shoulders. Acting on instinct, Max moved to him quickly and sank to her knees, bending over him, beginning to caress his face the same way that she had for Nate all those years ago. Just so he knew that he wasn't alone in his nightmare. She whispered that she was there.

Danses eyes flew open, wide and unfocused. "Cutler …" he breathed, pleadingly, his voice raw and ravaged. "I'm sorry…" His eyes fluttered closed again, but he continued to squirm in his sleep.

She sat down against the wall at his crown and gently lifted his head onto her thigh. She gently placed her left hand onto his chest, running her fingers back and forth against the fabric of his tank top and gently stroked his face with the other hand, running her cool fingers over his brow and sinking them into his hair. She started to softly talk to him, making her voice as calm and as even as she could.

"Danse, you're safe," She intoned, soothingly, "I'm here with you, you're not alone, everything's OK…" her voice droned on and on.

His movements eased and he was soon still and breathing normally. She lay her head back against the wall and closed her own eyes, her fingers still trailing across his wide and firm chest and lazily stroking the hair back from his brow.

She continued her incantation throughout the night, "… you're safe, I'm here, you're not alone…I'll never leave you alone…" A tear ran down her cheek.

Nate…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Well, that was Awkward**

Paladin Danse wasn't exactly sure what woke him first.

It may have been the soft, smooth voice whispering over and over that he was OK or it could have been the feather light caresses of the two hands on his body, one gently stroking his head, the other drawing lazy circles on his chest with light fingers.

His head pounded with unrelenting force and he was reluctant to open his eyes to see what was going on … what had happened and the hands on him felt so good…

His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring at an old dirty ceiling. He turned his head a little and found himself looking up at Maxs face. She wasn't looking at him, but rather was looking out into the distance, lost in thought. She was talking to him softly, the same thing over and over, like she were on auto pilot. Her hands seemed to be moving of their own accord as well.

He raised his head slightly and it bought her back to the here and now with a start. She looked down at his face and a warm smile spread over her face, lighting up the dim room.

"Well, good morning sleepyhead." She greeted him sweetly. Her hands ceased their movement. "How do you feel?"

He started to rise but she pressed down on his chest and he rested his head back down on her lap.

"I said, How do you feel?" She insisted, still friendly but with a little more conviction.

"I feel like I've been in an explosion." He said, with a hint of a smile.

"I detect a hint of attempted humour." She frowned. "Your head injury must be worse than I thought"

"Can I get up now, ma'am?" He asked politely, the smile becoming a little wider.

She nodded her head a little and took her hands off his chest and detangled her fingers from his hair, "slowly…" She warned him.

Danse sat up gingerly, his head spinning. He bent his knees up and rested his head on them for a moment, eyes closed when he realised that his knees were bare.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked a little forcefully, embarrassed to be out of uniform.

"Armour over there, boots by the door and ummm…" her voice petered off and he turned his head to look at her. She plucked at the front of the jumpsuit that she was wearing herself. "My stuff was wet." She said by way of explanation.

She got slowly to her feet. "Ah, Fuck it..." She cringed and started to pound on her left leg with her fists… "Pins and needles. I swear , your head weighs like, fifty pounds."

He raised his eyebrows at her and watched her limp, with a great deal of exaggeration and groaning, to the hat stand on the other side of the door. She tested the items hanging there for damp and then took them over to the desk and lay them down on the top. She quickly unzipped the jumpsuit and drew it down over her bare shoulders and down to her waist. That was all Danse saw. He closed his eyes tight and turned his head away, his cheeks flaming. His attempt at modesty was thwarted though when he heard the quick footsteps heading for him and felt her kneel at his side.

"Are you OK?" She asked, her voice concerned.

He didn't dare open his eyes and kept his head turned from her.

"Put some clothes on, you're embarrassing us." He said through clenched teeth.

He heard a tinkle of bright laughter. "Is that all?" She laughed incredulously. She put her hand on his arm to hoist herself back up and he heard her walk away. He waited until he heard the sound of her jacket being zipped up before he dared open his eyes again. When he did, he did so hesitantly, sneaking a quick peek before exhaling in relief.

She tossed him his jumpsuit and set about strapping on the pieces of her body armour as he got to his feet.

"I found some med-ex," She said as she saw him flinch and put his hand to his head. "It will sort your headache, but might make you a little sleepy."

He declined. He didn't approve of the use of chems, save for Stimpaks and radiation protection. "It will pass." He replied stoically, and he dressed himself.

The gathered up the rest of their things and stowed them as Max told Danse about the state of the pumps below them. He looked critically at his suit of power armour. It may be easier to navigate within the building without it. He shook his head faintly. No, it would be better to fight off Mirelurks in the Armour. He dragged on his hood and stepped up into the armour. He turned to his companion after the machine booted up to find her gazing at up him.

"Pity…" She said cryptically, before shrugging her rifle over her shoulder and taking up the shotgun. She loosen the pistol in its holster and pushed open the door of the office.

The rest of their mission had progressed pretty much as planned, give or take a few moments of conflict.

"Don't! Fuck! Around!" She had shouted at the Paladin, as he had tussled with a pair of angry Razorclaws "Shoot them in the face!" She was safe and sound inside a sealed office playing on a terminal when she said it so he had hackled at the criticism. Add to that his pounding headache and the burning image of her naked from the waist up that he couldn't shake and he was in a decidedly dark humour.

The flooding receded and the pumps started up with a deafening roar and they stomped out of the building into the bright Commonwealth afternoon.

"I call the front seat." Max proclaimed as they exited the building and she took up point for their walk back to Greygarden.

Danse watched her stroll away, noting for the first time the hypnotising swing of her hips as she sauntered ahead and took a deep steadying breath. Something had changed while they had been inside Weston Water Treatment Plant. Something that couldn't be changed back, at least not in his mind.

Why had his head been resting in her lap when he woke? He thought suddenly. It was a very intimate situation to be in, even if he was injured. What had happened? He found himself gnawing on his lower lip with worry, grateful for the helmet covering his face. He worried all the way back to Greygarden, he would need to ask her, though he didn't want to… he really didn't want to.

They reached the junk gate to Greygarden just as night started to fall and the skies were painted with the purple and orange light of the setting sun. She waved a friendly hello to the ghoul on guard duty at the wall and the gates lumbered open for them.

Danse glared up at the creature as he thudded through the gates. He needed to keep his eye on them. These ones seemed safe for now, but he was sure that they could go feral at any moment and overrun the whole settlement.

He stood back and watched Max's exchange with the Robots, advising the completion of their mission. They would need to find a bunk for the night.

Danse found his eyes moving over her of their own accord, taking notes that he had not bothered to take before now. She was quite tall and she moved with an unconscious grace. She always looked relaxed and easy in her surroundings. It was an anomaly in a world where others always seemed to have one eye behind them.

She kept her dark brown hair tucked up under her helmet most of the time, but for a few minutes in that office, it had hung in loose waves around her face and about her shoulders, softening her already beautiful features. Danse was a man after all and he knew a pretty girl when he saw one.

He suddenly found the leather clothing that she wore, a bit of a distraction. It was nearly skin tight and clung to her gentle curves in a very disturbing manner. Danse cleared his throat inaudibly, feeling a flush slowly creep over his face. But he kept on watching her all the same, as she laughed at something the robot had said.

Her eyes were the most startling shade of green and they sparkled when she laughed. And her skin was unlike any he had ever seen before, flawless. He had seen a lot of her skin… much more than he should have. Her upbringing in a vault would explain it, he guessed. No exposure to the irradiated wastes, or damaging sun. It was almost translucent and so soft, he recalled vividly the feel of her fingers lightly caressing his face as he had lain prone in her arms.

He mentally shook himself. What had lead to him being in that situation?

She was swaying back towards him, so he snapped his attention back to the present.

"So, White said there's a couple of spare beds down the hill." She said as she reached him. "They'll send fresh produce to the police station at regular intervals from now on … not so much, so it won't spoil, but enough to keep you guys healthy." She walked passed him and continued down the hill towards the shacks.

It took him a moment to realise what she had said.

"You took the mission in exchange for supplies for Gladius?" he asked as he caught up and kept step with her. "What about you?"

"I'm not about to lug tonnes of mutfruit around the commonwealth with me." She replied with a snort. "What was I going to do with produce?"

She stopped outside one of the shacks and cast an appraising eye over the small doorway, which she would have to stoop to enter and then over the towering, armour encased companion and grinned up at him.

"Somethings gonna to have to give here." She said cheekily before she ducked inside.

Danse exited his power armour and extracted the Fusion core, so none of the transients in the settlement could take it for a joy ride during the night and ducked into the doorway after her. There were two small but clean cots in the single roomed shack. A worn and faded chair in the corner and a small dirty nightstand with a shadeless lamp sitting on it. It was tight quarters but it would do for the night.

Max sat on her cot and shoved one of her hands through a gap in the wall.

"I could almost fit my head through this." She mused, "I need to have a word to Preston about it, not much protection from the elements in here. I shudder to think how it would cope with a rad storm."

She lay back on her cot and contemplated the roof as well.

"How's your head?" She asked, not looking at him.

"It is fine, thank you." He lied.

"You're a dirty liar, Danse." She grinned over at him. "I can almost see your eyeballs pulsating."

She got up from the cot. "Sit." She ordered before rummaging through the pouches & pockets in her belt.

He sat down on the other cot without comment. She turned towards him with a Med-ex syringe in her hands. He opened is mouth to object but she stuck him with it quickly and depressed the plunger. "Nobody likes a martyr." She stated, dropping the empty syringe on the nightstand

The painkiller washed over him, quickly extinguishing the lightening storm in his head. She put a palm on his chest and gently pushed him back onto the cot, forcing him to lie down.

"You'll be one hundred percent by the morning, soldier." She smiled into his eyes as they began to droop closed.

* * *

He awoke with a start, the sun was shining through the small window of the shack and directly into his eyes. He took a moment to get his bearings as he blinked into the light. The room wasn't the same as when he went to sleep.

The room was in rubble. The cots were overturned, the nightstand in splinters and the lamp on its side on the floor in the corner. He was lying on his side on the floor and there was someone restraining him from behind. No, not restraining. More like embracing. A leather encased arm draped over his side and dangling against his abdomen and the other under his head, cushioning it against the hard floor. Danse raised his head carefully off the arm and looked back at Max in surprise.

His quick intake of breath was enough to wake her from her own slumber and her deep green eyes met his brown eyes with concern. He was staring at her in shock and horror, staring at the dark bruise that spread over one side of her face below her eye.

She sat up quickly and held her hands out to him in a reassuring fashion.

"It's not what you think" she said quickly, "but we need to talk."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – About last night**

Danse had started to twitch in his sleep about an hour after lights out. It wasn't too bad at first but within about twenty minutes he was fighting his nightmares with ferocity. Max sat up in her cot and looked over at him with empathy in her eyes. No wonder she had never seen him sleep before. She wondered vaguely if it happened every time he slept or if it was only sometimes or if there was a particular trigger.

She jumped when his fist came down on the night stand and cracked the aged wood. The lamp fell over and rolled off the edge, clunking to the floor but not breaking. It rolled on the floor before settling under her cot. She leaped to her feet in a rush when he thrashed so violently that his cot tipped up dumping him unceremoniously on the floor. This was bad.

Max acted quickly, she grabbed hold of his flailing wrist and clambered over him, wrapping herself around his broad back and clung on to him. To the casual observer it looked like she were trying to ride him by piggy back on the floor, her legs were wrapped around his waist and she pinned his arms to him. It was hard work to hold him still, to keep him from hurting himself. He was much stronger than her.

One of his arms pulled free of her grasp and he landed a very effective elbow blow on her cheek. She saw stars and wrangled with his arm, getting it back into her control before starting her whispers. She fought to keep her voice soothing as he struggled against her, her lips close to his ear, her breath on his neck. She was lucky, very lucky that he was drugged or she would not have been able to hold him. He was a big and very strong man and she doubted that she could have contained him if he weren't dosed with Med-ex.

His struggles began to ease as her voice worked its way into his brain, warming him, comforting him and chasing away the visions and horrors of whatever hell he kept on putting himself in. What did he have to keep reliving? What did he need to keep seeing?

She relaxed her grip on him as he settled. She could feel the sweat drip down her forehead as she lay on the floor next to him. It was hard work grappling with someone, she thought, laying her head against the floorboards with a slight thunk.

The next thing she knew she was awake, on her knees and facing Danse across the littered and sunlit room. She had fallen asleep at his back, still holding him close. He had a look of dismay on his face, and was that disgust?

She held out her hands to him in what she hoped was a placating fashion. "It's not what you think" she said quickly, "but, we need to talk."

She had no idea what he would be thinking. She doubted that he knew that he had been beset by night terrors for the last couple of nights. Nate had been surprised on number of occasions when she had mentioned his episodes. If he didn't wake himself in a cold and terrified sweat, he forgot them like any other dream. Danse may have just woken up in her arms, nestling like a lover with no idea how he got there.

It took Max a moment to figure out that Danse wasn't looking at her eyes, but instead at a fixed point on her face… her cheek. She raised her hand and pressed lightly on her skin and suppressed the flinch that the sharp pain it stimulated.

"HA…" The laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "Yeah, that was a good one."

Danse blinked but said nothing, he seemed to be trying to disappear, praying for a plasma blast to disintegrate him into slime.

She relaxed and moved from her knees, sitting on the floor with her back against the tipped up cot.

"Do you know what PTSD is?" she asked Danse carefully.

He kept on staring at her from his spot across the room, searching her face for some explanation so he wouldn't have to have this conversation and took a second or two to respond to her question. His response was a barely noticeable shake of his head.

"My husband, Nate… I don't think I've mentioned him before?" again a small head shake "Nate was a soldier, one of the absolute best." She smiled lightly as she spoke and her eyes drifted of into the distance with the memory of her husband. "He was a lot like you, dedicated, honourable, a natural born leader. He was a skilled fighter and tactician, his men loved him and would do anything for him. He was so strong, but he took everything that happened to him in the war and held it too close to himself, never letting it go. The war kept a part of him and never gave it back."

Her deep green eyes sought out Danse. "Every night, for years after he was home and safe with his family, he kept on fighting in that fucking war. He could tell you the name of every soldier that fought under his command, in his company, because he saw their faces in his head, he heard their screams as they lay dying in the snow and mud whenever he closed his eyes."

"It slowly went away," she said, leaning forward, "The war did eventually end for him. With me and with our son, Shaun. He talked to a doctor too and I think that's what helped the most, being able to talk about it, to ... unburden his mind and slowly let go. To be surrounded by friends to support him. He was even stronger for it."

"You can tell me about it if you want, you can tell me anything. I won't ask, or impose on you, I mean, we barely know each other. But I will listen to anything you have to tell me, without judgement, maybe I can even offer a little insight. It might help you to unburden yourself a little." He was looking at the floor and she gazed at the top of his head, encased in that stupid hood. She sighed softly and got to her feet and padded to the shack door.

"Whatever blame you feel you need to hold onto, whatever guilt you clutch to yourself like a talisman and whatever demon you find yourself fighting every time you close your eyes… you don't have to do it alone. You have at least one friend at your back." She turned to duck through the shack door, when she heard his soft voice behind her.

"What war?" He asked.

She blinked at the question… Shit, she had let one of the cats out of the bag.

She turned back to him, he was looking up at her from his position on the floor, his back against the cot, knees bent with his arms resting on top of them. The slightly tortured look had been replaced by a burning curiosity.

" _THE_ War." She replied. "I met my husband when we both served at Anchorage in 2066."

Paladin Danse just stared at her, his mouth threatening to fall open. She walked over to him and settled on the floor beside him, mirroring his posture.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was in a vault." She explained plainly, "I went into vault 111 in October of 2077 when the bombs dropped and I came out when I woke from Cryosleep a few months ago." She laughed shortly. "You could say I'm a pre-war Relic."

"… and you were a Lawyer…?" He asked.

She sighed… everything she would say to him would result in more questions, but it was keeping his mind occupied, so she told him.

"I was a soldier to begin with. I joined up fresh out of school. Anchorage was my first deployment, I was eighteen and I met Nate on my first day, as soon as we got off the plane He was dressed in T-60 Power Amour. He was one of the first to trial it." She shook her head, "I don't want to talk about Anchorage though." She glanced at him, he was watching her face intently, so she looked away again.

"I didn't see Nate again for a few years, I was at a fourth of July picnic in Boston Common with some friends when he came up to me in his dress uniform." She chuckled, "I remember jumping to attention and saluting him, he had that kind of bearing."

"By the next year we were at the Common again, as husband and wife. Shaun was conceived that night… What is it about fireworks eh?" She chuckled again, getting lost in her memories.

"I left the army and studied for the bar while I was pregnant. I had literally just passed the bar when the bombs fell." She looked at Danse and smiled, "So, I'm a lawyer."

Danse nodded his head, processing what she was saying. It took his mind off what she had said first. It took his mind off the angry bruise that spread across her cheek.

"You didn't leave the army until you fell pregnant? What did you do between the war and meeting Nate again?" Danses voice was quiet and sincere.

She laughed bitterly all of a sudden and her tone changed "Let's just say I was reassigned to a new unit… a special programme where I received special training and was sent on special missions. It kept me very busy"

"What sort of training did you receive?" He asked, bending forward.

"Everything that could help me cause as much mischief as possible." She smiled, but there was no humour in it, none of the warmth that he was used to seeing in her pretty face.

He got it, he understood at least partially. She was reluctant to talk about it and he chose to not press her anymore. She had shared more about herself in the last few minutes than she had in the weeks that he had known her and many things slotted into place in his mind. She was trusting him with her personal history. She would share more soon, he knew, but she was done for now. It was time he reciprocated.

He sat for a while staring at the wall opposite them.

"Let me start at the beginning," he intoned a little unsteadily, "I grew up alone in the Capital Wasteland, spent most of my childhood picking through the ruins and selling scrap. When I was a bit older and had a few caps to my name, I moved into Rivet City and opened a junk stand. While I was there I met a guy named Cutler…"

Here we go, she thought, this is the name she recognised from the night at Westons, she listened carefully as he spoke, her hand wandered over to his arm, and lay there softly. He didn't notice it and went on.

"We got along pretty well, watched each others backs and kept each other out of trouble. When the brotherhood came through on a recruiting run, it felt like it was a way out of our nowhere lives, so we joined up. Once I saw what the brotherhood had to offer, there was no comparison." He made a humph sound. "Anyway, about a year after we were posted to the Prydwen, Cutler vanished on a scouting op. It took some convincing, but I was able to persuade my CO to let me assemble a squad and search for him. It took almost three weeks but we tracked his team down to a supermutant hive." A small shudder went through him and his eyes took on the thousand yard stare. "Those wretched abominations had slaughtered everyone but Cutler, he should have been so lucky. The mutant bastards used their FEV to change him into one of their own kind. He wasn't Cutler anymore, I had to …it was my duty to... put him down. It was what I was taught… I don't know if it was right." He turned his head and looked into Maxs eyes. There was an almost pleading look in them asking her if it was right. She didn't say anything ... not yet, he wasn't done.

"Ever since Cutler died, I've seen other soldiers come and go. Some were brave, some were honest, hell some were even down right heroic, but I've never considered any of them to be a good friend, a friend like Cutler was." He went quiet again and looked at his hands as they draped over the top of his knees.

Max looked over at him. No wonder he was so 'brotherhood', it was all he had. Like her, he was alone in the world. She thought about his youth, so much different from her own. Kids in this wasteland were forced to grow up so fast. Adapt or die.

"My hand hurts." Danse said suddenly, staring at the offending limb as if he wanted to cut it off. "Is that from hitting you?"

He didn't look at her but continued to stare furiously at his hand in shame.

She smiled, "No, that was from the unoffending nightstand."

He looked over into her eyes searching for truth. They wandered to the bruise on her cheek and he closed them tightly, his brow threatening to cave in and bury his whole face in frown.

"Enough!" She said, turning on the enthusiasm with a start. Danse opened his eyes again as she jumped to her feet. "Pity party over, my friend. We need to right this room, get some breakfast and get back to Cambridge with some fresh fruit and veges. I'm pretty sure Rhys has scurvy and that's what's making him so bloody grumpy."

She held out her hand to the Paladin on the floor and he took it with only the slightest hesitation. She hauled him to his feet and she found herself, standing close and looking up into his handsome face and not releasing his hand.

"This isn't over." She assured him sincerely. "We'll talk more, when we're both ready. We can't keep fighting the battles of the past, not when there are so many in the here and now. And call it selfish if you want…" She reached up with her free hand and ran it slowly over the creases in his forehead. "…But you're really cute when you're asleep, I want to see it more often."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – Brotherhood in da house**

Max stood on the roof of Fort Hagan and watched the enormous airship float ponderously overhead.

"Well…" She said to herself, shaking her head, "someone hasn't heard of the Hindenburg."

Nick Valentine, synth detective and fast friend, stood at her shoulder looking on with a kind of awe, the cigarette he had just lit hanging from his mouth on a precarious angle.

"A little bit over the top." She said, trying to sound unimpressed. She wiped her bloody hands on her pants.

"Deep into that darkness peering. Long I stood there, wondering, fearing." Nick said ominously.

Max glanced at him, rolling her eyes.

"Poe, right?" She asked and he looked at her finally, his yellow eyes wide. "Well, this is all very melancholy."

"No more so than the scene we just left." Nick observed in his classic gumshoe voice and looking pointedly at her belt, stained with blood and carrying pieces of the Institute mercenary, Conrad Kellogg.

"Hey, I was just claiming my pound of flesh… or cybernetics in this case." She said it coldly, "and it might still help me find Shaun somehow, seeing as the man himself can't." She patted her pouch.

Nick took a long drag from his smoke and watched the airship recede into the distance. She was good woman, but when it came to her family she could be downright brutal. He guessed that he couldn't really blame her, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"I might have an idea." Nick said finally, "It's a longshot but I might know someone who can help you… in Goodneighbour."

"Cool." She said, starting towards the scaffolding that led to the ground. "We have to make a quick stop first. I need to check in on someone."

* * *

Paladin Danse looked around the Cambridge Police Station, now a hive of activity. The Brotherhood of Steel had arrived in the Commonwealth, they had arrived with trumpets blaring and with a show of force that none could deny. In the distance he could see the magnificent Prydwen moored auspiciously over the old Boston airport and it filled him with a sense superiority. It made him swell with pride.

He was standing on the catwalk over the stations entrance looking out into the distance, when he heard an annoying clanging on the back of his armour.

"Hey PD, What's shakin'?" A sweet and familiar voice said cheerily.

He turned to look down on Max who was knocking obnoxiously on his back with the hilt of her pistol.

"Stop that." He said, pushing her gun away and trying to sound testy, but nothing could bring him down at the moment. He noticed that she had a companion with her and looked up in greeting, only to growl and raise his laser rifle.

"Hey… Hey, knock it off." Max shouted, jumping in between the suddenly angry Paladin and Nick, her arms spread wide. The rest of the Brotherhood soldiers turned at the sounds and readied their weapons as well. Max was suddenly surrounded with guns all pointed at her and Nick.

"Whoa there, hostile much?" She said in what she hoped was a pacifying tone. "Stand down Danse and let me explain."

Danses eyes flicked from Nick to her but he didn't lower his rifle.

"Ok so, just reporting in." She began keeping her hands where he could see them. "I may have a lead on how to find the institute… and if you shoot Nick, I won't anymore."

"Danse…Please" She implored him after he didn't respond.

Danse looked back up at Nick who had his hands in the air, his tattered synthetic face and unsettling yellow eyes scanning the crowd of soldiers warily. The Paladin raised his hand and motioned the others to lower their weapons.

Max let out an audible breath as they did so and Danse stepped towards her.

"Explain yourself." He growled. "Why did you bring that thing in here?"

"Well, if I'd known you'd have a conniption over it, I wouldn't have … geez." She hissed quietly. She motioned Nick to join them. "Behave yourself." She whispered to Danse as he joined them cautiously.

"Paladin Danse, Commander of Recon Squad Gladius for the Brotherhood of Steel, meet Nick Valentine, Private Detective of Diamond City." They didn't shake hands.

"I only came here as a courtesy," She said sternly. "I know the Institute is a priority for the Brotherhood."

Danse glared down at her, "and how do you know that?"

AH Crap!

"I read it on your terminal." She said unashamedly.

"You hacked into a classified Brotherhood terminal?" He was getting angry again.

"You should have made it harder to break into." She shrugged. "But regardless of that…" She rushed on, "It is true and if this lead works out, then the brotherhood will have an inroad to your… our… mutual enemy."

Danse thought hard about it, he eyed the Synth with undisguised revulsion.

"You'd share whatever information that you garner with the Brotherhood?"

"That's why I'm here, nimrod!" She said spitefully. "As capable as I am, I don't think I'll be able to take the institute alone."

Nick presence was causing a bit of a kerfuffle so she turned to him.

"I think it might be best if I meet you in Goodneighbour." She said, and Nick nodded very aware of the hostility in the air "I'll talk these jerks around. Will you be OK getting there alone?"

"Yeah, kid." He replied. "Not many would bother with an old bot like me." He leaned in closer, "Be careful with this lot, kid." He warned in a whisper, "They don't seem like the friendliest of types."

"It's all good Nicky, I've got them pegged… Stay Safe."

Nick turned and walked from the compound, careful not to make any sudden or threatening moves as a dozen pairs of suspicious eyes followed him. The tension seemed to drain from the compound as soon as Nick was out of sight.

"Come with me." Danse ordered suddenly and grabbed Max by the arm. She was willingly dragged along, up the steps of the station, through the building, up the stairs and out onto the roof. A vertibird sat there and Danse hauled her into it.

"Where are we going?" Max shouted over the sudden roar of engines, as the vertibird warmed up for take off.

"I'm taking you to the Elder." He bellowed back.

The vertibird lifted off from the roof and started a smooth journey towards the airship in the distance. Max took the opportunity to look down over her once beloved city sitting in ruins below. From the air, some of the devastation of the bombs and centuries of decay was indistinct and she began to pick out landmarks and features that she had imagined lost. She smiled sadly.

Danse watched her from across the cabin, his temper coming back under control after her tenacity in bringing a synth into the Brotherhood compound. She really didn't understand… or care to understand what she had done.

She looked down onto her city and he saw her eyes mist over. He remembered their talk that morning at Greygarden and remembered that she had seen this city when it had been whole and flourishing. He wondered what she saw now.

The vertibird made short work of the distance between the Station and the Prydwen and it was soon docking easily against one of the protruding gangways. Danse alighted quickly and held out his armoured hand to Max. She took it and joined him on the deck and followed him. The Power Armoured guards on either side of the door to the interior stood to and addressed him as he passed them "Paladin."

They entered and seemed to have interrupted an assembly of some kind. The unseen speaker was in full voice and he held his audience enthralled. Max wasn't really listening, she was too busy casting her eye over the interior of the ship and it was bound to be something egotistical and bigoted anyway.

The speech concluded with everyone shouting 'Ad Victoriam' and then rushing off in a fervent whirlwind. The Paladin waited by the door to be acknowledged by the young man who had been revealed by the departing crowd. Max snorted when she looked at him…did they know what the word Elder meant? This guy was still a kid. Large and grizzled looking but a kid all the same, she'd be surprised if he were twenty five at the most.

The whippersnapper nodded his head imperiously at Danse, prompting him to come forward. Danse led Max on and stopped a respectful distance away before clanging a fist on his armour.

"Elder Arthur Maxson," He said crisply. "May I present Max… uhhhh… Max the civilian. You may have read about her aiding Gladius in my reports?"

The Elder considered Max carefully. His piercing eyes taking in everything about her appearance. Assessing her on sight.

"Hey, take a picture it'll last longer." Max grinned in response to the prolonged scrutiny. She heard Danse sigh at her facetiousness.

The Elder chose to ignore her insolent comment.

"I understand from Paladin Danses reports that the Brotherhood owes you a great deal for your assistance to Recon Squad Gladius." Maxson finally spoke. His voice was quite compelling.

"Nah," She replied, "you guys don't owe me anything."

"Max is partially aware of our mission in the commonwealth in regards to finding and neutralising the Institute, Elder." The Paladin supplied. The Elders eyes flicked from Danse to Max, his assessment continuing. "She is quite resourceful and may have found a lead into tracking their location. She has chosen to share this information with me with the endgame of possibly acquiring Brotherhood support in subduing the enemy if her mission proves successful."

"Wait a minute!" Max interrupted suddenly, "Can I smell coffee?" She sniffed the air loudly.

Both Danse and Maxson looked at her in surprise.

"Do you guys have coffee?" She asked vehemently.

Danse exchanged a long suffering look with Maxson.

"May I offer Max a refreshment, Elder?" He asked

"Danse, don't mess with my emotions," She cut off Maxsons reply with anticipation in her voice, "I swear to you, if you can produce a viable cup of coffee right now, I will strip you naked and do you right here on the floor… in front of everyone."

Danse blinked back in surprise, "Uhhh... that…" He gulped loudly and stuttered a little, "Th-that won't be necessary."

Max saw Maxsons lips twitch slightly upwards for a brief moment at his subordinates discomfort but he made no other move other than a stiff nod. Danse left them to procure the beverage.

She turned to Maxson as soon as Danse had gone.

"OK Arthur, Here's the deal." She started without ceremony. "I recently found and killed an institute employed mercenary. He was fitted with several cybernetic implants that could lead me closer to the Institutes location."

If Maxson was startled by her candour he didn't show it. He put his hands behind his back and listened carefully.

"One of my companions is a defunct gen2.1 prototype Synth, he was with me when I reported my potential find to Paladin Danse." She continued seriously, "He is essential to my search and he needs to remain intact. If I were to continue to share information with the Brotherhood, I would need you to ensure his safety."

Maxson considered this.

"Why is the Institute a concern of yours?" He asked.

"The institute is everyones concern." She replied shortly.

"The fervour in your eyes tells me that it's personal with you." He observed calmly.

Max considered her answer, "They took someone I care about and want to get them back." It was as noncommittal as she could muster.

"If this lead does not pan out, you will continue your search, obviously." Maxson added, "and you will continue to share information with us?"

"Obviously… I don't give up easily. I'll be chasing those bastards for a while, don't you worry." She grated.

"A deal then." Maxson decided as Danse re-entered the room a steaming cup, looking ridiculously small and delicate in his massive armoured hands.

"In exchange for intel on the Institute and continued assistance to the Brotherhood, I will guarantee the safety of your pet synth, eventual assistance in destroying the Institute and I will provide you with a small team… the remaining members of Gladius, to aid you in any way they can."

Danse looked shocked as he came to a stop next to Max. Had he just been placed under her command?

She took up the coffee cup and inhaled deeply at the contents and sighed in satisfaction. She took a small sample sip. It was unsweetened but she didn't care, it was ambrosia to her. She had to take moment to appreciate it. She never thought she'd taste coffee again and she rolled her eyes and groaned a little lustily at it.

The men watched her silently, both stirred by her sensual response to the drink.

She gathered herself and looked up at Maxson. "OK, Arthur… Deal."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Not-so-Good Neighbour**

Max had warned them to keep their prejudices in check, but Recon Squad Gladius had no idea what they were walking into as they stepped through the gate. Goodneighbour was their worst nightmare. Rhys' face was nearly purple with rage as he glared furiously around the town. It was den of Ghouls, Robots and Chemheads.

Max strolled through the gate with her new team behind her. Danse had chaffed a bit at _her_ , with what he had seen as a demotion by the elder, but he kept it to himself. He looked around with distaste but remained professional. Haylen just looked about with interest, taking it all in.

Max was rushed at the gate, taken up in a big bear hug by a blur of ghoul. She heard the rasp of his voice in her ear and laughed out loud.

"I knew you couldn't keep away from me, beautiful," John Hancock leered into her ear. "You can't resist my charms." He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and set her down. He leaped back from her suddenly and Max turned to her team, all three of them had their weapons drawn and trained on the Mayor of Goodneighbour.

"Geez Guys, Relax." She sighed and turned back to Hancock, "John, this is the Brotherhood of Steel, they overreact to stuff." She introduced as the soldiers reluctantly lowered their laser rifles.

"How's it been going?" She asked ignoring her shadows as she and Hancock started walking deeper into the town, trusting her guards and allies to follow her. Max waved at several people hailing her as she walked on, Daisy and KLEO.

"The triggermen have fucked off, No-nose is dead and MacCready no longer lives here. Things have never been better." He grinned at her.

"You miss RJ, admit it." She chuckled at him, knowing full well that he and MacCready were near as best friends.

"What's he up to anyway? I haven't had word in ages." Hancock asked looking a little hurt.

"He's at Sanctuary trying to get into Curies pants." She supplied.

"Ahh right. Is he having any luck?" Hancock nodded knowingly, a small smile gracing his ghoulish face.

"No." She said with a wide smirk. Hancock laughed raspily.

"Hey Deacon" She spoke to an inconspicuous looking drifter leaning nonchalantly against a wall.

"I'm not Deacon." He replied, looking sheepish.

She just smiled. "I see everything." She said to him before they moved on.

"Have you seen Nick today?" She asked Hancock finally, getting to the point of her visit.

"Yeah, He was at the Rail earlier, I think he's in the Rexford now."

"I've got stuff to do right now, but we'll catch up soon?" She said by way of farewell. Hancock nodded and gave her arm a quick squeeze and casting an indecipherable look at the following Brotherhood soldiers, before walking back to his office past a group of neighbourhood watchmen.

She didn't need to go to the Rexford, as the gumshoes voice called out to her.

"Hey kid, glad you made it." Nick was watching her silent guards warily from his spot just off the road. Nick was just finishing a cigarette, leaning up against a streetlamp, his fedora covering his eyes. The image reminded her of the cover of an old crime novel.

"Thanks for this Nick." She replied, grateful for his help despite the crap he had had to put up with from her new allies.

"Anything for you kid, let's just hope this pans out for you." He replied dropping his cigarette to the ground and stubbing it out with the toe of his shoe, before pushing off and walking towards the group.

He led her to the Memory Den, an old repurposed theatre and opened the door for her to enter and then let the door close behind him before the Brotherhood could come through.

Max had been here before a few months previously, to help Curie acquire the humanoid body that she craved. She greeted Irma warmly as she reclined gracefully on her chaise, looking for all the world like a blonde bombshell from the movies. Danse joined them, out of his power armour and he glared at Nicks back. Rhys and Haylen must have been set to watch outside. Max hoped that Rhys could behave himself while unattended by his superior.

They proceeded to troop down the stairs into Dr Amaris private clinic. Amari didn't look too impressed to see Max. Sometimes Maxs mouth had that effect on people. She had made some inappropriate, though highly amusing comments the last time she had been here. Max smiled cheerily at the doctor who sighed and gave a slight grimace in response.

Danse could see that Max had a similar effect on this Doctor that she had on him to begin with, he could see the womans jaw clenching in frustration at every quip that Max made as they conversed. He didn't understand everything that they were saying but it seemed like they were going to plug the mercenarys cybernetic implant into Nick to see if it could be read.

Did Nick just say they needed this to find Max's son? What else was going on here?

He watched as Nick was plugged into the lounger but something was wrong... typical, the robot didn't have the clout to help them. His processing must be deficient, Danse thought spitefully to himself.

"The encryption is too strong for a single mind, but what if we used two… "The doctor theorised. "We load both you and Mr Valentine into the memory loungers and run your cognitive functions in parallel. He'll act as a host while your consciousness drives through whatever memories we can find."

"Any idea what I'll see in there?" Max asked cautiously.

"Not a clue, but considering what we have to work with, I doubt it will be cohesive." The Doctor replied uncertainly.

"As long as I don't see Nick in any compromising positions..." She leered at the grizzled old synth, as Nick gave her a reserved and condescending look in response.

"Let's do it." Max decided, moving towards one of the loungers.

"Now, wait one minute" Danse interjected, coming forward to grab Maxs arm. "Are there risks? Are you even going to bother to ask?"

"The risks are worth it, it doesn't matter what they are." Max shrugged indifferently peeling Danses fingers from her arm. "Just keep watch, if anything _does_ happen, you'll be able to see everything that I see and you can report it back to Arthur." She indicated towards a small view screen and continued to clamber into the lounger as Danse looked on anxiously.

"I know how much you _adore_ your reports." She chuckled as the lounger sealed around her in preparation for her going under, he could hear her ask incredulously "What, No popcorn?" She gave Danse a wink and a grin.

He shook his head in exasperation and stepped up to the view screen. Watching closely as the process began. It was working, images began to fill the little screen, jumbled at first but they soon condensed into organised narratives.

He watched as Nick and Max sifted through the man Kellogg's memories as Dr Amari monitored their progress, helping them traverse the neural pathways of the dead merc. He watched as a child became a man and a man became a killer. It was fascinating, like he imagined a moving picture show from the prewar world would be like. He watched the mercs first introduction to the Institute with interest, taking careful note of the conversation.

The next memory though, gave him a chill as he watched it and he flicked a glance at Max as she lay in repose. Her fingers had started to twitch, her forehead wrinkled and a small gasp escaped her lips as the man, Kellogg walked down a row of pods, a hazmat suited woman walking in front of him looking at the pods left and right. He saw in the monitor, Max awake but trapped in one of those pods, groggy and confused. He watched enthralled and with no small amount of dread as the intruders opened a mans pod, shot him in the head and wrest a crying baby from his limp arms. He looked sharply at Max who let loose a raw and agonised cry from the lounger, her face contorted with… what? Rage? Horror? Grief? A combination of all three and more? He looked back at the screen in time to see the memory of Max screaming and thrashing silently within her pod, pounding on the glass until her fists were bloodied, her beautiful face streaked with tears. Kellogg called her a Back-up.

Her Husband… Her Son.

"You have to stop this." He grated harshly at the Doctor, his heart pounding for Max. "Look what it's doing to her."

He left the screen and hovered over her lounger wanting to tear the door off and free her of her sudden nightmare. A single tear trailed its way down her cheek.

"Wait." said the Doctor hesitantly, "There's one more, just one, let's see what it is otherwise it's been for nothing"

Max was calming again in her lounger, leaving the memory of her husbands murder and her sons kidnapping behind. She began to breathe normally again and the frown lines eased on her forehead. Danse hurried back to the view screen and watched intently. Please don't be a bad memory… please make it worth what she just had to see… he silently implored.

The image condensed into a little boy, about ten years old reading comics on the floor of a darkened room. He looked back at Max, was that her son? Had it been that long?

He watched in disbelief as a man in black appeared in the memory, as if from a bolt of lightening into the shadow of a room and after a brief exchange with the Merc, took the boy, disappearing by the same method. Teleportation? Was that possible? He looked back at Max, her face was serene again.

As he looked back to the screen the memories slowly faded and the monitor went blank. Danse took a deep shuddering breath and looked to Max. If it had been that tense for him, he could only imagine what she was feeling, living it through mind of her enemy. He strode to her side and hunkered down by the lounger, watching for signs of her waking, ready to comfort her if needed, the way she had for him.

He was vaguely aware of Nick exiting his pod and he and Dr Amari speaking quietly behind him. He watched her, she wasn't waking.

"Why isn't she waking?" He asked with concern.

"It will take a moment for her to wake." The doctor replied from somewhere behind him. "Her vitals are fine, she's fine."

Slowly Max began to stir and the lounger cracked open, Danse ducked under the door and bent over her and softly touched her cheek, wiping away that stray tear as her eyes flickered open.

He looked into her eyes, a trace of anguish lingered in them.

"Well," She spoke unsteadily, "That sucked balls."

He said nothing, but helped her rise shakily out of the lounger. She stumbled a little and he held her for a moment until she regained her equilibrium.

"Where's Nick?" She asked, looking for her friend.

Danse had not seen him go, Mr Amari answered. "He has gone back upstairs and is waiting for you there."

"Thanks Doc," Max said sincerely. "I think we got what we needed… you're a real smart cookie you know that?"

The doctor accepted the compliment graciously and bid them farewell. Max walked on her own having stepped away from Danse and made her way upstairs back into the Den and in search of Nick. Danse followed her closely uncertain of weather or not he should say anything about what he had seen. She seemed intent on her task, he chose to wait.

She approached Nick with a smile, he looked up from the faded sofa that he was resting on.

"Hope you got what you were looking for inside my head," it wasn't Nicks gruff voice coming out of his mouth, it was Kellogg's in that taunting, patronising tone that she remembered when she met him at Fort Hagan… and killed him. "Ha ha, I was right, I should have killed you when you were on ice"

"You wanna try for round two asshole, Let's go." Max was suddenly in a rage, stepping towards Nick threateningly with Danse at her back, shock written on both of their faces.

"W-what?" Nick stuttered, his own voice returning "What are you talking about?"

"Wait, were you just playing a joke on me?" Max asked, becoming calm and friendly as fast as she had gotten angry.

"I guess that's for you to wonder and for me and Kelloggs memories to know for sure." He said a little sadly, "Anyway I feel fine now. Doc said there might be some Mnemonic Impressions..."

He stood up and adjusted his coat, searching his pockets for his cigarettes.

"So, you're off to the Glowing Sea then." Nick continued, placing a stick in the corner of his mouth and looking for his flip lighter "to find the mysterious Dr Virgil?"

Danse looked confused. Had he missed something?

"It's the best lead I think." She replied, "If he managed to escape the Institute then it stands to reason he would know a way in again… that's if Kellogg didn't get to him first." She mused.

"Nicky, I'm taking the team with me." She said pointedly.

Nick nodded. "I'll go back to Diamond City then, I wouldn't want to toss a spanner in the works." He glanced at Danse briefly, "Let me know how it goes?"

"Sure thing." She gave him quick fierce hug. "Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Sorry this one has been so long. I've been away from work. Yes, I write this in my downtime at work. I am also going to take some time soon to go over and correct some gammar and spelling errors from to previous chapters. No matter how many times I proof them I miss some. This is a slow burn people, so it will go on for a while yet. Please feel free to review. I'd love to know what you think... good and bad.**

 **Chapter 9 – Come Sail Away**

Paladin Danse had been derelict in his duties. He had been tasked to watch the view screen and learn what he could about the probable location of the Institute, but he had missed a whole section of vital information because he had been distracted by Maxs condition in the memory lounger. What if something had happened to her and she hadn't woken? They would have been lost because of his inattention.

It weighed on him with every step, it was worse than the continuous Rad Storm that swirled around him as he and Max trudged through the Glowing Sea in search of the escaped Institute scientist that they sought.

Max had, of course, caught him up on what he had missed. She had done so with that crooked little smile on her face as they walked towards Sanctuary. They had needed to take the detour in the complete opposite direction than they needed to go in, so that Max could collect her Power Armour for the trip to the sea in the south.

Rhys and Haylen had stared at her as she mentioned her Armour. Danse knew she had used some before, his own in fact and that she had scavenged a suit or two in the Commonwealth but even he had been surprised by the pristine suit of Armour that sat inside her home in Vault 111. It was beautiful and so very much more advanced that anything that the Brotherhood had in their arsenal.

It was mark six and painted deep red with black flames emblazoned all over it. She and Haylen talked animatedly about the features that Max had added to it. Rhys had stood back and simply scowled.

Haylen had also explored the vault with enthusiasm. What had once been a tomb for the citizens of Sanctuary Hills two hundred and ten years ago was now a hub of activity, now that Sanctuary itself was full to overflowing with settlers. It was also a near impenetrable fall back point should anything happen on the surface.

Where the Cryo pods had once been, there were now living quarters. All of the former inhabitants had been attributed a proper and sombre burial on the hilltop outside of the vault, overlooking what had once been their old Boston. There was a small respectful monument listing all of their names, or at least as many as Max could remember. All except Nate, Nate was separate from the others. He had his own stone 'Nathan James Everton, 2042-2287, Husband, Father, Soldier'

Danse had read the stone, picturing the man he had seen in the Memory Den view screen and the unjust way the man had been ended. A strong soldier dispatched when he was weakened and vulnerable, by cowards, by the Institute.

Danse looked through the unhealthy looking haze that shifted violently around them now at his companion. She had told Rhys and Haylen that their services were not required in the Glowing Sea and that they were to stay in Sanctuary for the duration of the mission. Haylen not having power Armour was the reason and Max not wanting her to be left alone in unfamiliar territory. They had accepted it. Sort of.

There was not a doubt in his mind that she would have left him behind too, if she could have thought of a suitable excuse.

The two of them had travelled south from Sanctuary, the trip itself a non event in the grand scheme of things. They encountered a friendly hound that followed them for a while and a not so friendly Deathclaw who left a set of ugly gouges down the side of her beautiful Armour.

The northern edge of the glowing sea had seemed calm. There had seemed no need to worry about entering it but once they trooped down the hill and neared the toxic border they reassessed. There was a definite delineation. One moment it was OK and the next they were immersed in a Rad Storm that raged without end or relief. They had stepped back over the invisible line to rest up and checked their supplies and suits again before slogging back into the fray early the next morning.

It had been a full day now. Twelve hours of a vast hellscape with no reprieve in sight. They didn't even have a viable site to camp yet and there was no way that they could rest out in the open. So far, they had seen a multitude of creatures wandering in the Sea but so far they had all kept their distance from the pair.

Max stopped and looked to the west. Danse followed her eyeline and saw a vague outline in the distance that could have been a building. She turned her helmeted head back towards him and signalled that they should head in that direction. Talking in the noise was near impossible, so they had fallen back to hand signals. He nodded and they changed course.

It was a small rangers shack set amongst pools of radioactive sludge. Max picked her way to the entrance carefully, her shotgun held at the ready but the inside was no better than being outside. There was a skeleton and an old suitcase in one corner. Danse rolled his eyes when he saw her stoop to look through them. Why couldn't she just walk past things… just for once .

He stood back peering out into the storm when he heard a clang on his armour. He turned towards her and she dangled a set of keys in front of his helmet and pointed to the floor of the shack.

A few minutes later, the two of them found themselves in the entrance to an underground bunker. The raging storm locked away on the outside.

"I bet there are dozens of places like this hidden all over the commonwealth." Max observed quietly as they walked deeper into bunker, her Geiger counters furious ticking petering off as they walked.

She had drawn her pistol, it looked like a little peashooter in her massively armoured hands. Their Geigers went completely quiet when they closed the last door behind them and found themselves in a little reception area. The soldier behind the desk was long dead, his bones grinned up at them from the desktop.

"It wasn't radiation that got them." Max observed again. "What do you think?"

"Holotape." Danse pointed to the object on the desk as he eased his helmet off.

Max picked it up and played it on her pipboy.

"God Bless America." She sighed as the tape concluded.

"Budget cuts?" Danse grimaced "because who needs food, right?"

"So, we won't be finding ghouls then… automatic defences, maybe protectrons?

"Keep your guard up, until we sweep this place and find a secure location for the night."

"Yessir." She saluted mockingly.

It took about half an hour to systematically go over the bunker. It was clear of anything living. It was also clear of any food, the government of the day deciding that the inhabitants didn't really need it. The protectrons were in place but dormant in their pods and the automatic defences were off line. The living quarters were comfortable and the showers were even working… with hot water.

Max was out of her armour and stripping off before Danse could even react. He shook his head at her as she toppled over sideways trying to take off her boot and her undershirt at the same time.

"I will arrange food." He said to no one in particular and left her scrambling on the floor.

From the deserted staff room he heard her emit an exaggerated groan of ecstasy as she stepped under the hot shower. He smiled to himself and unpacked tins of pork 'n' beans and Brahmin jerky. They had not been able to eat since that morning and had a hard hike to get here, he was famished and he would bet she was too. They needed protein, carbs and a good sleep before they set off again in the morning, who knew when they would be able to eat properly again.

He heard the water shut off in the ablution area and heard her shuffling around.

A while later the food was ready and he called to her. She swanned into the room wrapped in an old bathrobe, her damp hair falling in dark tendrils around her face.

"I turned on the turrets and the protectrons. Just because we're alone now, doesn't mean we will be all night." She advised as she walked in the room and picked up her plate.

"Would you please put some clothes on?" he exasperated at her.

"Is that an order, Paladin." She asked, her back straightening to attention.

"Yes. Yes, it is soldier." He replied in his commanding officer voice.

"Well, too bad" She smirked, "you're not the boss of me." She turned and skipped from the room, singing over shoulder. "Nah na, nana Nahhhh!"

She was sitting on one of the bunks eating when he found her next, flipping through a huge folder, her plate was balanced precariously on one bare knee and a fork was hanging out of the corner of her mouth.

"This is Federal Surveillance Centre K-21B." She supplied absently as he sat down on the bunk opposite her and started to eat.

"Can I ask you something, Danse?" She asked after a minute of companionable silence. He looked up from his plate.

"You may." He replied formally before digging into his beans again.

"Haha. Well, thank you sir I shall proceed with my question then." She smiled at his formality. "We've known each other for a while now and it occurred to me that I don't know your first name."

He looked up at her again and frowned.

"My name is Maxine Lillian Everton." She coaxed.

"Paladin Richard Alexander Danse." He provided reluctantly.

"Richard?… Huh." She mused to herself. "Richie… Rich… Dick. Haaa! Dick Danse, that's funny."

"No." He dropped his fork and glared at her grinning face.

She continued to smile but dropped it and they ate in silence for a while.

"I have question for you too." He said finally, setting his plate down and looking at her.

"Shoot." She said, lifting her plate up and licking the left over sauce off of it.

"Why don't you take anything seriously?" He sighed.

"I don't take things seriously?"

He gave her a look that spoke volumes.

She set her plate aside and sat forward on the bunk, her face thoughtful.

"In my mind…" She began after a long pause, her tone was serious. "… a few months ago, I was living the dream. Loving husband, beautiful baby boy, loyal robot butler, burgeoning career. Perfect house in the perfect street in the perfect suburb in one of the greatest cities in the greatest country"

He was looking into her green eyes as she spoke. Her voice sincere like it had been that morning at Greygarden.

"I only have the robot now." She looked away from him.

"If I don't laugh at all of this, it will drive me crazy. I choose to take it as one big joke that's being played on me… soon everyone I know will jump out from behind the furniture and shout 'surprise'... we got you... no apocalypse for you…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes misted for a moment as they fixed on the doorway.

She shook herself and looked back at him.

"You need to try that shower. You smell." She beamed at him, it was like flicking a switch on her emotions.

Danse didn't question her further. He got up and walked to the showers.

She was right about the shower, he was relaxed and refreshed when he came back into the bunkroom but he had been thinking about what she said. She was lying on her bunk staring at the one above her. One of the protectrons stomped past his back as he stood in the doorway.

"I promise that I won't take all of your jokes so seriously from now on." He said quietly.

She looked over at him.

"Dammit." She grinned.

She watched him walk over to his bunk.

"I have another question for you." She warned him.

"Uh-oh." He ruminated as he lay down on his own bunk.

"You are one of the most observant people I've ever met. How come you didn't know…about Virgil & the Glowing Sea?" She asked it sincerely, without judgment or rancour.

"I was worried about you." His voice was low and they were both quiet for a while.

"Will you be able to sleep?" She asked suddenly.

"I slept well last night."

"I think I understand your pattern now." She elaborated. "When we're in a potentially hazardous circumstance like on a mission, you never really sleep. You doze like you're always on guard." She was looking at the bottom of the top bunk again, "but when you're safe and relaxed and your guard is down… Your mind off the danger…" She looked over at him. "I want you to sleep next to me."

He sat up abruptly. "What?"

"I figure that if we share the bunk, you'll either be on your guard all night, but you'll doze… or if you do wake or dream, I can comfort you better from right next to you." She was being serious.

"It wouldn't be appropriate." He tensed up.

"Neither would you bopping me in the face again." She saw his jaw tighten at the mention of it.

"Listen Richard. We are friends. What's the big deal?"

He had a flash of memory, her naked breasts as she stripped off his jumpsuit, but he didn't want her to know that. He got up from his bunk slowly took the one step over to her bunk and lay down next to her.

Hours later he woke up feeling revitalised after the best sleep he'd ever had. He could feel the warmth of her behind him and he felt her arm resting on his hip. He could hear her soft breath sigh evenly from behind him, still sleeping peacefully. He smiled lightly and closed his eyes again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - Jolly Green Giant**

The Glowing Sea certainly kept one on their toes. After the first day of almost nothing happening, the second day consisted of constant bombardment from all of the local fauna. First a group of frisky radscorpions and then another solitary Deathclaw took exception to them as well. They were very alert after that confrontation, scanning the din around them with care. The last thing they needed now was their Armour to fail and have to try and cross this place with no radiation protection.

After half a day they neared a massive crater which seemed to house a settlement at its core. Max looked through The Last Things scope down at the people and started in surprise.

"They're not ghouls." She advised Danse. "How can they be out here?"

"They must be Atoms Children." he replied scrutinising the crater.

"I haven't heard of them, are they people or… something else?" She asked lowering her rifle in case someone down there saw them and got the wrong idea.

"They're a cult." He said shortly, "They worship radiation. They're not harmless, though they preach something like peace. If we go down there, watch what you say?" He warned.

"If they can live here and know the area, they might know who Dr Virgil is." She started down the crater. Danse checked his ammo count on his laser rifle and started down after her.

They were seen as soon as they started down and a few of the people stopped to watch their descent. Max took her rifle in one hand and held it out from her and raised the other hand in the air, Danse followed her lead.

"We come in peace." She intoned as she reached the first person, grinning inside her helmet.

"We require some information if possible." Danse said more respectfully from behind her.

The wispy little man before them warily eyed their massive Power Armour encased bodies and looked to his brethren for direction.

"Take me to your leader." Max intoned again, knowing that if he could, Danse would be glaring at her.

"I will take you to Mother Isolde." The man briefly advised before turning and leading them to one of the shacks behind him.

Mother Isolde turned out to be a regular looking lady, a little older than Max, with shoulder length brown hair and doe eyes. She was curious about the two of them but did not seem threatened or threatening. She was frowner though, so Max took the back seat in the brief discussion, not trusting her mouth not to get her into trouble. They were directed to a cave south of the crater where the doctor was housing himself. Isolde was not entirely happy with his presence so close to her cloister.

With a lot of the day ahead of them they decided to press on. The sooner all of this was over and done with the sooner they could leave the Glowing Sea and its delights behind them.

It was near sunset when they reached the cave entrance or at least, as close to sunset as they could ascertain in the Rad storm. They crowded into the cave entrance but heard the unmistakable rattle of machine gun turrets within and stopped.

"Do you think he has a doorbell?" Max asked as she peered into the dim interior of the cave.

"I doubt it." Danses terse reply came from over her shoulder.

She raised her voice and shouted into the cave "Dr Virgil!"

There was the sound of a clatter inside the cave, they both raised their weapons and waited.

A voice carried back to them, deep and rumbly.

"I was expecting Kellogg… who are you?" the voice called back.

"We're not with the Institute. I've come to ask for your help." Max waited for his reply.

"If you're not with the Institute then who are you?"

"My name is General Maxine Everton, I am the leader of the Commonwealth Minutemen." She shrugged her shoulders, it was true after all. "Can we approach?"

"You said we."

"I have a colleague with me." She elbowed Danse where his ribs would be and heard a satisfying clang in response.

"I am Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel." Danse called at her prompting.

"You can approach, but leave your weapons there."

They leaned their guns against the wall of the cave and walked slowly into the shadowy interior one at a time. Max stopped dead in the narrow tunnel when she saw Dr Virgil and turned quickly back to Danse.

"Don't you dare do anything." She menaced at the Paladin.

She couldn't see the surprise on his face but she knew it was there.

"I need you to keep control of your emotions. If you can't, you'll have to wait outside. Understand me?" She was serious. Danse couldn't see what she saw, not yet.

"He's a supermutant, Danse. A supermutant that I need to talk to."

Danse made a low growl in his throat but made no other move.

"I'll wait outside." He grated and abruptly turned back down the tunnel.

Max sighed and continued towards the Doctor, her hands out where he could see them. Only Danse would rather stand out in rad storm than spend a few minutes in the peaceful company of a supermutant. She hoped it would be peaceful.

"Dr Virgil," She greeted him, almost eye to eye with him in her power armour.

"If you're not here to kill me then what do you want. How do you know Kellogg and how do you know about the Institute?" The Doctor liked to get to the point.

"First of all Kellogg is dead. I killed him after he kidnapped my son for the Institute." Two answers, easy. "As to what I want… You escaped from the Institute. I need to know how and if you can possibly help get me in."

Virgil squinted at her through his spectacles, which rather comically stretched around his massive green head. "I need you to take off your helmet so I can see your eyes. I can't tell if you're lying."

She glanced down at her pipboy which was ticking away furiously at all of the radiation in the cave. "Uuummmm…." She deliberated hesitantly.

"Come into the Lab." He said impatiently and turned to go further into the cave.

As they walked into a small cavern, the pipboy was silenced, the Geiger letting her know that the air was rad free in here somehow. She removed her helmet and looked up at the Supermutant doctor. He humpfed at her.

"Why do you want to go into the Institute?" He asked brusquely.

"To retrieve my son."

"Where did your colleague go?" He asked, squinting down at her.

"He's not great with supermutants." She shrugged.

He humpfed again "Neither am I."

* * *

Danse stood glowering out at the Rad Storm. Of all the things that scientist could have been, it had to be a supermutant. A supermutant and an Institute scientist. This guy should have been at the top of the Brotherhood hit list.

Why did that woman insist on fraternising with the lowest lifeforms. Synths and ghouls. Robots and supermutants. He wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if she befriended a deathclaw and had a pet bloatfly.

He could put it down to her naivety, being a vault dweller. But she was also smart. Too smart. And she was the _Leader_ of the Minutemen.. the Leader? That's what General meant? She had to be aware of the dangers involved with these creatures. Elder Maxson would be very disturbed by this turn of events.

Danse lifted his laser rifle and looked hard into the shifting din of the storm, sensing movement in the gully leading to the cave. He inched back slowly into the cave as a pair of very, very big shapes emerged in the haze. He had heard about Alpha Deathclaws before but had never seen one, let alone a pair of them.

The pair were each nearly twice the size of a regular Deathclaw and one seemed to be much more muscular than the other too. They seemed to have decided to take up residence at the mouth of the gully. Danse waited in the shadow of the cave entrance and watched them, hoping that when Max finally emerged from her meeting with the supermutant, she didn't do so in the regular Max fashion and cause a ruckus.

It must have been nearly an hour of waiting when he heard the footfalls of power armour approach from behind him. He turned to meet her, raising his fist in the 'shut up and get down' signal. She stopped in the tunnel and followed his gestures with her eyes until she saw the Alphas outside in the storm.

She stood still so long he wasn't sure if he wasn't looking at an empty set of armour. She eventually waved her hands at her weapons still leaning against the wall of the tunnel. There was no way the Deathclaws would let them walk out of the cave unmolested. From his scant knowledge of the alphas, they were even more aggressive than their smaller peers, which didn't bode well for the humans.

Max rearmed herself, even loosening the combat knife at her belt. If it came to that though, Danse thought, it would probably be all over. They retreated into the cave to discuss options.

"That was a quick operation." The voice of Dr Virgil rumbled from near by.

"There's a pair of the biggest Deathclaws I've ever seen outside." Max advised as she rechecked the state of her weapons and ammo.

"Ah, yes." Virgil nodded sagely. "A mating pair, I have seen them before."

Danse stood back from the supermutant, not sure what was worse, the two killing machines outside or the killing machine just a few feet from him. The last time he had been this close to a supermutant it had been decimated with laser burns and totally deceased. His finger twitched near the trigger of his rifle as he looked at the giant green mutant beast, a sneer on his helmeted face.

"They cannot fit into the cave, so they have never been an issue before." Virgil continued.

"Well, the happy couple are an issue now, if we're going to get out of here unscathed." Max said. "Unless we move in. You need some roommates?"

She didn't expect a response to the question. "What do you think, Danse?"

"I don't want to move in here." He replied shortly.

She rolled her eyes at his droll response. "OK then, so we engage. I'll take a few shots at them from cover with the 50cal. and we'll be on our way. I doubt they'll be so spry with a mass of lead in their brains."

"And if you miss?" Virgil asked.

Max laughed shortly from inside her armour. "I never miss."

She and Danse trooped quietly back to the tunnel entrance with Virgil trailing curiously behind them.

Max levelled her rifle at the Deathclaws and peered through the scope at the larger of the two. She had a sudden flashback to her training and the instructor droning endlessly about the BRASS technique; Breathe, Relax, Aim, Slack, Squeeze. She said it quietly to herself before she let the shot fly.

Her aim was true. She saw the round bite deeply into the right eye of the huge deathclaw. She chambered another round and sent it sailing into the other one before she realised that the 50cal. rounds had done almost nothing except piss them both off. She chambered more rounds and sent all seven of the bullets in the magazine into the heads of the deathclaws.

"Oh dear." She murmured as she stumbled back into the cave bumping into Danse, who had been at her shoulder watching and he stumbled back into Virgil. The Deathclaws, now hurt and very angry, were scrambling towards the cave and the source of the mutual headaches.

"Their heads are pretty strong then." Max spoke urgently as a huge claw swiped towards them from the cave mouth.

"Their bellies look softer" Virgil suggested from behind them both before he retreated into the cave once more. Danse lifted his laser rifle and Max her shotgun, she doubted her 10mm would have much effect on them, but she would empty that into them as well if she had to. The lasers bounced off the creatures and the shot did very little as well, these things were near invincible

Virgil lumbered back up to them carrying the rattling turret in his vast arms. He pushed past them and planted the turret in the center of the tunnel. It leapted to life, firing dozens of bullets into the under bellies of the beasts that slathered and slashed at the cave mouth.

After a few minutes of deafening gunfire, the turret silenced as it ran out of ammo. The deathclaws were down, but still squirming on the ground in their death throes. Virgil deposited a pair of grenades in Max's hands, picked up his empty turret and stomped back into his cave.

Max exchanged a long look with her partner, handed him a grenade, pulled the pin on her own and walked to the cave mouth. She jammed the grenade into the mouth of one of the Deathclaws as Danse did the same to the other. They jogged away from the pair and into the glowing sea as the mated Alphas heads exploded.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 – Happy Birthday to Me**

Sanctuary Hills was alive with people and after the drudge of the long road it was a little overwhelming at times. Max took to her suite in the vault as soon as she exited her power armour. The old overseers office had a good sized bedroom and ensuite as well as the office and storage cage so she had a lot more room to herself that anyone else. Everyone else bunked two or three to a room in the settlement down the hill or in the partitioned off bunk rooms of the vault.

Max preferred to be out on the road than in this place. She had too many bad memories of the vault, but as General of the Minutemen it had been decided on her behalf that the overseers accommodation was the best for her in terms of her stature in the community.

The perk was that she got a bathroom and shower to herself, though the hot water was rationed and Codsworth kept the place up for her. The downside was that whenever she dared to set foot in Sanctuary she was bombarded with a constant torrent of people all vying for her immediate attention. The most annoying of which was Preston Garvey, the Minuteman administrator and her second in command.

He spent most of his time in the office adjoining her quarters collating the flow of information that was continuously forwarded to and from him. He was efficient at his job but he also had a slew of jobs for her to do and his constant presence meant she felt the need to hide in her room with the door closed or to sneak away to anywhere else.

She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling thinking about her next course of action in finding her son, listening vaguely to the hum of activity just outside her door. According to Dr Virgil she needed to find an Institute Courser and take his chip to intercept the signal that acted as the tether for their teleporter. She was getting closer, just a short trip into the old CIT Ruins would lead her to the courser and then she could get her baby back.

She got up off of her bed and began to gather her supplies when she heard the distinct Irish brogue of Cait in the office outside.

"I don't care if she's sleeping. She has some explaining to do." Max heard through the closed door. Cait was in a tizzy about something.

Max stepped to her door and opened it as she adjusted her armour into a more comfortable position on her arm.

"What is it Cait?" She asked as the door slid open.

"You," Cait began accusingly, her eyes flashing mischievously in her freckled face "are a filthy liar."

Max gasped dramatically and put her hand to her chest feigning offence.

"Codsworth just told me it's your birthday today." Cait continued with a smirk.

Max frowned and looked hard at her pipboy. "Huh, so it is." She honestly hadn't noticed. Birthdays and holidays just didn't seem important in this world so she just didn't pay attention to the date.

"Don't pretend like you didn't know." Cait huffed, running her hand through her scruffy ginger hair "Party tonight in the common area… we're gonna get Druuunk!" She sang as she turned and glided from the room.

Max eyeballed the empty doorway with distaste and then glared at Preston, sitting at the desk with a wide smile on his face.

"Shut up." She warned him before returning to her room and shutting the door behind her.

She wasn't in the mood for any kind of party let alone one that reminded her that she was two hundred and forty years old. She ran her hand over her face. She needed to go to CIT, she was planning on leaving today. She let out an audible and frustrated sigh and started to take off her armour. She'd make an appearance tonight and leave in the morning. Early.

Later that evening she could hear the growing commotion of a party getting underway. She had showered and changed into more suitable party going clothes. She had found a pretty green dress that came close to matching her eyes when she had searched the old Fallons department store, but she also wore a comfy pair of old combat boots, so it kind of ruined the glamourous effect. She brushed her hair with care and left it to cascade over her shoulders and she fastened a small silver locket around her neck to finish up the look. She was just vain enough to know that she looked damn good.

She took a deep breath and left her room. She made her way through the corridors to the common area and there were people everywhere clogging every available space. She wondered if there were any people left on the surface at all, were there still guards posted at the sentry posts? Many of the settlers greeted her by name. She knew most of them by name, the rest by face at the least.

Someone took hold of her hand and she turned her head and looked into the bright blue eyes of RJ MacCready who was now walking at her side.

"You're looking good, Boss." He murmured, looking her up and down.

She leered back at him, taking in his completely out of character, clean and tidy appearance "You better watch out young man. You're not looking too bad yourself. Almost good enough to eat."

"Is that so…" He cocked an eyebrow at her playfully. "Well then,why don't we blow off this party and go somewhere quiet to discuss that."

"Oh sweetie, I would break you… Hell, all of this…" She smoothed her free hand up along the curves of her body, "would probably kill you. You need to find someone your own speed."

MacCready grunted. "I'm trying, she doesn't get it."

Max laughed. "I'm not telling Curie to hook up with you if that's what you're after. You could try telling her that it would be a good experiment in human interaction…?"

He brightened at the suggestion. "That might work." He released Max's hand and pushed through the crowd, looking for his prey.

Cait saw her a moment later and was at her side in a flash, waving a cold beer bottle under her nose.

"You like lager right?" Cait shoved the bottle into Maxs hand. "I tried the Pilsner before but it's shite. I'm sticking to stout, it's less shite. Happy Birthday, you're fucking old."

"Thanks awfully." Max said taking a long drag of her beer.

Cait flashed her a grin and climbed up on the table in the middle of the room.

"Oi!" She shouted over the noise of music and chatter. Slowing the din died down and everyone turned to face the feisty Irishwoman. "Shut up you bastards, and say happy two hundred and fortieth birthday to the boss, the General and the human popsicle." There was a loud cheer from the assemblage before Cait continued "Let's get pissed! Cheers."

It was as good a toast as any and everyone raised their glasses and bottles before draining them and returning to their talking. Max was patted on the back and hugged by a dozen people at once. She did the rounds talking to everyone. She also looked for her brotherhood team and noticed Rhys unobtrusively leaning against a wall, glowering at everyone. She saw Haylen involved in an enthusiastic discussion with Sturges over by the jukebox. It looked like they were talking about and planning on, taking it apart. And then she spotted Danse looking oddly relaxed and talking with Preston.

Cait was at her side again taking the empty beer bottle from her hand and replacing it with a full one. She was looking at the big Paladin as well.

"Well done on finding that one, by the way." She was openly ogling him. "That is a very tasty morsel indeed."

He was dressed in borrowed jeans and a clean shirt which strained a little across his chest and biceps. His beard was gone and his strong jaw was on full display and his gorgeous black hair was brushed back from his face. That stupid jumpsuit and hood were nowhere to be seen. She sighed a little "Yes, it certainly is."

Cait looked back at her, eyes narrowing and her lips pursed.

"Knock it off, Cait." Max rolled her eyes at the look. "He's nice to look at and all, but he's got that Brotherhood of Steel stick wedged firmly up his butt. He's way too serious. But he's a good friend."

They both looked over at him again in time to see him laugh lightly at something Preston had said.

Cait looked at Max slyly, "You'd still do him though, right!" She drawled.

"Oh, hell yeah," Max replied, lustily "I'd climb him like a tree."

They both laughed and got down to some serious partying.

* * *

It was very rare these days to just relax and have a cold drink. Since they had entered the commonwealth, the members of Recon Squad Gladius had been beset by hostility and tragedy. Danse was perpetually on edge, always searching for the next attack. But here inside the secure vault, full of friendly people at ease, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Even if it were to be temporary, he would go with it for the night.

He had been surprised when a foul mouthed Irish woman had approached him and told him that Max's birthday celebration was tonight and he needed to get his arse cleaned up and in the vault by seven.. and be prepared to get 'loose'.

The room was packed with people and he found himself scanning every corner for the birthday girl. He noted the positions of his team; Haylen had attached herself to the towns tech expert and Rhys stood apart, looking like he would rather be engaging a swarm of bloodbugs than with any of these people.

When Max finally emerged from the corridor, Danse had gaped at her. He had seen her in various states of undress while they were out on ops (and in his head if he were honest) but he had never seen her glowing and encased in _that_ dress, gliding along with that graceful swish of her hips. His brow furrowed when he also noticed that she was walking hand in hand with a handsome young man and smiling devilishly at him. He turned back to Preston, who he had been talking to only to have his attention drawn again by Cait hollering over the noise to toast Maxs birthday.

He kept looking back to Max every few minutes to see what she was up to, she hadn't sought him out so he stayed on his side of the room talking to various people. First she was laughing with Cait, then she was taking a fresh bottle from Codsworth, taking a screwdriver from Haylen who looked to be about to attack the jukebox, kissing that troublesome looking young man on the cheek and laughing with him and then dancing with Blake Abernathy, who had walked with them from his farm to the south with a loaded Brahmin for a provisioners run.

Who was that young guy anyway? They seemed pretty chummy.

Max didn't seem to be drinking a lot but she became more and more unsteady on her feet as the night progressed. Danse decided to take action when she almost fell from the table top that she had mounted to dance on. He pushed his way to her side and helped her off the table, keeping her upright until she regained her balance on the perfectly still and level floor. She clutched at his arms and chortled.

"It might be time you called it a night… don't you think?" Danse spoke loudly over the commotion around them.

"Richie, my best buddy..." She slurred at him. "You wanna dance, Danse?... bwaahaaahaaa... dance danse."

"No." Danse grimaced, if she remembered she'd said that he would continue to hear it forever. "It's time for bed, you have a big day tomorrow."

She pouted, jutting out her lower lip in a very childish yet endearing way.

She allowed herself to be led towards the corridor leading to her quarters, but insisted on stopping at almost every person on the way to hug them and call them her best friend. At least she wasn't an ugly drunk.

He got her halfway up the corridor before she lost her footing and stumbled. He caught her before she hit the floor and rather that right her, he hoisted her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder. She laughed uproariously at the whole episode letting herself go ragdoll against him.

"How much did you drink?" He muttered disapprovingly.

"Four." Her voice floated to him from her position against his back, "…five"

He opened the door to her room and carried her in, placing her down carefully and holding her up making sure she was steady before pulling back the covers on her bed. She sat down heavily on her bed and began struggling with the laces on her boots. Mission accomplished, getting her to her room, he started to the door.

"Wait" She cried.

He turned back to her. She was reclining back on the bed supported by her elbows. She lifted her booted foot and pointed it towards him.

"Boots."

He sighed and came back to her, taking hold of her calf and unlaced her boots for her, easing them off her feet one at a time, followed by her socks. She made a small satisfied sound as she watched him denude her feet. He placed her boots on the floor at the end of the bed and turned to go again.

"Wait." She cried again.

He turned to watch her struggle to her feet, wobbling precariously on the edge of the bed. He stepped back to her to steady her before she tumbled to the floor. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck.

"Kiss goodnight." She said softly before touching her lips to his.

He was shocked to stillness. His eyes wide in surprise.

She pulled back from him for a moment and looked deep into his wide eyes, taking in his deer in the headlights look.

"I think we can do better than that." She purred before leaning in again.

She kissed him deeply, swaying against his body, the extra height added by her standing on the bed giving her a predatory stance over him. Her arms unwound from his neck and she slowly trailed her fingers up the sides of face and burrowed them into his hair. He couldn't help it, he had to kiss her back. He rested his hands on her hips and stepped in a little closer. She nibbled on his bottom lip and swiped her tongue across it to sooth the bite.

She pulled away and beamed at him before flopping down onto her bed and wriggling under the covers.

"Good night." She yawned before closing her eyes and immediately drifting off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Just a short one today - filler really, like I said at the start, I have no idea where this is going, it's as much a surprise to me as it is to everyone else. Enjoy... reveiw.**

 **Chapter 12 – Commonwealth Institute of Technology**

She didn't remember. She didn't say anything, she didn't look at him any differently. It was like it never happened.

Danse was on point trying to take in his surroundings. He should have been, but he was distracted by his thoughts. Max and Haylen were behind him and Rhys had taken up the rear as they trooped along towards Cambridge and the old C.I.T Ruins beyond on the north side of the river.

He was morose as he walked, had he really taken advantage of a drunk woman? He must have, she was still grieving for her husband and looking for her stolen son, he doubted she had any feelings other than friendship for him. Certainly nothing to prompt such a deep and stirring kiss. He was torn, wanting to both talk to her about it and wanting to never mention it again. He could hear Haylen and Max talking quietly behind him. He tried to ignore them, it was impolite to eavesdrop. But every time _she_ spoke, his ears perked up.

"He's pretty smart…" Haylen was saying "and he just has a feel for things, you know."

"He's not too hard on the eyes either." Max added. Danse could hear the sly grin in her voice.

Haylen made a stuttering sound "… it's… it's not like that." She protested.

"Mmm, not yet anyway" Max interrupted.

Danse could almost feel the heat from Haylens face radiating outwards, he smiled discretely.

Max laughed. "It's OK to be into Sturges, he's a great guy." There was a drawn out silence and Danse wasn't sure what was happening until Max spoke again.

"Haylen, he's made his feelings for you quite clear, you're wasting your time there… move on," Max advised softly. "Rhys is a jerk and unrequited love is a waste of energy. I say Elton Sturges is the way to go especially because during the party, he looked like he was ready to walk off a cliff for you."

Haylen had stopped talking and Danse felt bad about listening. He had known his scribe had mooned over his knight but chose not to intervene as they were keeping everything professional and it wasn't interfering with their performance at all. Neither of them had approached him about it, so he let it go.

"Is he going to be able to analyse the courser chip when we get it?" Haylen asked finally. Danses ears perked up again.

"I don't think so, but I've got another contact who will." Max replied confidently.

"Who is that?"

"I don't want to be rude Haylen, but there are people that I know in the Commonwealth who the Brotherhood would frown upon," Max said carefully. "The contact would rather I didn't say."

Danse lead the team past Cambridge, not bothering to stop and check in with the police station. He heard Haylen and Max start talking again, Haylen lowering her voice discretely but not quite enough to avert being overheard.

"Is there something going on between you and the Paladin?"

There was a moment of silence behind him. He thought he could feel his ears growing large as he strained to hear Max's response. There was suddenly a burst of near hysterical laughter from Max. He felt his face grow hot, glad that he had his helmet fixed firmly in place. He turned his head and shushed Max, pretending that he hadn't heard the conversation.

She gulped in air for a moment and wiped her eyes, trying to control her mirth before continuing on. That hurt a little, the laughter, not the implied denial of 'something going on'. He ignored it, gritted his teeth and carried on.

It did not take long for the team to reach the ruins of the CIT complex. Max handed her rifle to Haylen and fiddled around with the dials on her pipboy. She tuned into the classical radio station and began trying to filter out a signal layer, the signal that apparently carried the transporter tether. It took a moment, but there began a slow and steady beeping. She turned slowly on the spot trying to find the direction. East.

She took her rifle from Haylen and walked slowing in that direction, the pulsing became faster as she moved and she motioned to her team to follow. They encountered a group of raiders entrenched in a ramshackle base on an old public square, they were forced to shoot their way through them to follow the signal. It was a short ugly fight but not really of consequence. They continued to move east, approaching the large Greenetech Genetics Building. As they approached the building they slowed. There was some kind of pitched battle going on inside the building. The muffled sounds of gun and laser shots and the odd explosion echoed from within.

"This must be the place." Max observed drily, flicking off the pipboy and looking up at the building and taking in the scattered bodies of Gunner Mercs littering the entranceway.

They gathered and made a quick plan, opting for standard CQB insertion, sweep and clear floor by floor until they found their objective. Gunners were not their allies, they would shoot to kill as quickly as the Courser, whom they seemed to be engaging and losing to. That didn't really bode well for the team, if one Courser could take on a full squad of Mercs, the four of them might be hard pressed.

They entered the building carefully and fanned into a tight formation. They worked well as a team. They never needed to face a large force of Gunners as their numbers were too stretched to hold the building, they engaged teams of two or three at a time. As they neared the top floor they employed a more stealthy strategy.

Max and Danse entered the stairwell leading to the top floor and waited, Danse listening carefully to the conversation taking place between the gunners and the Courser.

After a moment Max got up and walked openly up the stairs making no effort to hide herself. Danse lifted his hand to stop her, but she was already out of reach, he followed her quickly reaching her side as she topped the stairs and wandered casually into the cavernous room beyond.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked the congregation brightly. She noted the five Gunners lined up against the wall, the woman locked in the control room and the black leather clad Courser looming over his hostages. Everyone looked to her in surprise, the Courser turning with weapon raised and on high alert.

"Who are you and what do you want?" He asked calmly, though clearly confused by her unorthodox entrance.

"I'd like two large pepperonis. Danse anything for you?" Max said walking without fear or hesitation towards the Courser.

"A Nuka Cherry…" Danse added, not sure what she was doing but not wanting to throw her off and disrupt it.

"Urgh really? OK… also, one Nuka Cherry with a large serve of fuck you." She came to a stop before the courser, ignoring his raised laser pistol. "…If it's not too much trouble, I'd also like the chip in your head…" She moved so quickly that Danse was taken by as much surprise as the Courser, though the Coursers surprise consisted of a combat knife being driven up through his chin and into his brain pan.

The Coursers suddenly dead body slumped forward and fell heavily to the floor.

"Well," Max observed, "that was easier than I thought it would be."

Danse walked up to the Coursers corpse and nudged it with his armoured foot. "Haylen, Rhys," He called and they rushed through the doorway. "Secure the Mercs"

Haylen looked down at the dead synth as she passed. "That was a bit of an anti climax." She observed before turning to the Gunners that were hunched on the floor looking confused, relieved and cautious.

"What was that?' Danse grated at Max as soon as the Gunners were secure. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the earshot of the team and the Gunner hostages.

She shrugged off his hand.

"I didn't have the time nor inclination to consult with you. The room is too big and open to sneak up on him and by the look of the Gunners a frontal assault would have been disastrous. Also, from experience, shooting things I don't understand in the head is not a good idea, it tends to piss them off." She was speaking in a calm and reasonable tone, "I took a chance on surprise and confusion…"

"He could have gunned you down as soon as you stepped over that threshold…" Danse was angry at her callous disregard for her own safety.

"Yep," She agreed, "I'm actually astounded that he didn't." She turned and walked back to the Courser before he could say any more and hunkered down to withdraw her knife and extract the chip.

Danse went to his team seething but knowing that it was useless to talk to the stubborn woman and he helped to question the Mercs keeping his back turned to her.

Max stood up and stowed the Chip in her belt ignoring the blood dripping from her hands. She glanced over towards the control room and the strange woman locked within, looking out with wide eyes. She wandered over and tapped on the glass with her bloody knuckles. The woman was clearly terrified so Max put a friendly smile on her face and mouthed 'I'm letting you out' and pointed to the Control Room door.

She deftly jimmied the lock and eased the door open slowly.

Danse watched her talking to the woman in the Control room and then watched the woman leave, in a hurry but not in a panic. Max stood by the door and watched her go, a small smile on her face, before she glanced over at Gladius and pushed herself off the door jam.

"What was that about?" Danse enquired as she approached.

"Hostage." was all she said, she didn't seem inclined to say more so he dropped it.

"What are we doing with these guys?" She asked him nodding at the Gunners huddled on the floor.

"We should let them go." Danse shrugged. "I'm not about to execute them and I'm not trekking them back through hostile territory to the Station... They weren't attacking us."

Max shrugged.

"Anyway, I have to go." She continued. "Are you guys going back to Sanctuary or are you going back to the Brotherhood?"

Danse looked at her blankly for a moment. "What do you mean you have to go?… go where?"

"I need to get this chip analysed and I need to go back to Virgil to sort the next part of the plan." Max advised him matter of factly.

"You're not going alone." Danse proclaimed, his eyes hardening.

"Yeah… I kind of am." Max disagreed, absently wiping her bloody hands on her leather pants.

"I absolutely forbid it." He bit out.

Max suddenly grinned. "Tell you what Danse... If you can catch me, you can come." She turned on her heel and bolted for the door.

And she was gone. Danse had no time to react as she moved lightening fast. In his Armour he did not have a hope in hell of catching her. He just stood there staring at the door with his mouth open to retort.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – A Grand Institution**

The Brotherhood may have had the resources, but Max didn't really trust them yet. Danse and Haylen were one thing but everyone else including the malignant Knight Rhys were still suspect in her opinion. Max sent word to Elder Maxson that they had an in and left it at that.

Between them, Sturges and Haylen had built the ungodly looking machine, the 'signal interceptor' with the help of the rest of Sanctuary Hills and the Minutemen. They had poured over the plans that Virgil had supplied her with and sent everyone out looking for parts.

The two techs had argued. They had argued a lot. Long and loud. They had both turned into terrifying dictators ordering everyone about without mercy, even Max and Danse hadn't gone unscathed, but they were finally satisfied with what they had constructed from the plans. Haylen and Sturges were pretty sure that Max would not be disintegrated as soon as they turned the interceptor on.

She adjusted the armour on her thigh and gathered up her meager supplies. She would be the guinea pig in this grand experiment. It was her son that she was seeking after all. She had her armour, her sidearm and her belt, full of basic supplies. Stealth was the key in this mission.

She was going to see if the interceptor would put her inside the Institute, hack a terminal, do a little recon and try to find the serum that Virgil had insisted that he needed. He had drawn up the plans on the mere hint of a promise that she would think about looking for it, so it must be important.

Today was the big day, it had all been leading to this.

She had gone alone to the railroad to get the courser chip analysed. Tinker Tom had worked his magic and decrypted it, putting all of the pertinent information on a holotape for her. Desdemona had bargained hard to keep the chip for further analysis. Max had finally accepted and handed it over. Danse had been angry when she told him.

She had then trekked to the Glowing Sea and to Virgils cave. She bargained with the Institute scientist for the plans to the signal interceptor and promised to look for his serum if she successfully entered the Institute. Danse had been angry when she told him.

She had returned to Sanctuary, strolling through the gates as if she had just popped out for a little jaunt, to find that Recon Squad Gladius had returned there after Greenetech. She immediately called a meeting and reported on her movements. She advised that if the Interceptor was successfully assembled that she would be using it to enter the Institute herself. Danse had been furious when she told him and they had been bickering about it ever since.

She opened the door to her room as she holstered her pistol and jumped back when she saw the large shape on the other side of her door.

"We're not discussing this again, Danse." She sighed tiredly, recognising the large shape.

"I'll go." He insisted, reigniting the argument from the day before.

"No, you won't." She insisted right back, pushing past him and striding towards the elevator to the surface. Danse followed her closely.

"For the absolute last time…" She didn't slow her step until she reached the elevator platform and turned to him as it began to rise, "You wouldn't know Shaun if he walked up to you and kicked you in the nuts. I am better with terminals, I've been trained to be covert and I doubt that you would even bother to look for Virgils serum."

"You can't really be thinking of helping that supermutant." Danse was incredulous.

The elevator reached the surface and they emerged into a bright Commonwealth morning.

"Listen Dick, I don't give a flying fuck about your god-damned Brotherhood dogma," She ground out furiously, frustration clearly showing on her face. 'Look at that sky, how many flying fucks do you see? That's right… none. No fucks today. Getting into the Institute is all I care about… Getting my son and killing the insane pricks who took him. If helping Virgil by getting his precious serum will help achieve that goal. Then that's what I'll do. The rest of your imbecilic crap can go to hell!"

Danse was shocked to silence by her unexpected outburst. The silence stretched out a little too long as they stood glaring at each other. He looked away first.

"I've never seen a Flying Fuck." He pondered hesitantly, casting a quick furtive glance back at her "Is that like a Stingwing?"

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards slightly and she started off down the hill to the settlement. He followed in her wake.

"You're too important to put yourself at such risk," He started on her again after a moment of two of walking in silence. "Too many people depend on you, your skills are too valuable. You're being selfish!"

She didn't stop walking, she strode purposefully into Sanctuary and made her way through the settlement to the old house foundation that the Interceptor had been constructed upon.

Haylen was standing on a chair beside one of the huge insect like legs of the structure applying liberal amounts of duct tape to an important looking hose. Max didn't want to know.

"… and you're not going to be any good to your son if this thing turns you into a smear on the concrete." Danse was _still_ talking.

"Enough, Danse." She shouted, she could feel her temperature about to reach its apex. She didn't want to be forced to shoot him in the face just to get him to shut up.

His mouth snapped shut and she looked him deep in the eyes. He was scared for her and she knew it, but here was no way she would let anyone else do this, especially him. She took a slow steadying breath.

"I. Am. Going. End of story." She spoke slowly, calmly and concisely, brokering no objection.

She saw his jaw clench but he said nothing else. She looked towards Sturges who was standing at the terminal that controlled all of this stuff. His hand was poised over the keyboard but he was staring open mouthed at the two of them. She must have yelled louder than she thought. She glanced at Haylen and the other settlers who had gathered to stare at the machine, they were all gaping at Max and Danse instead.

"Are we ready to go?" She asked Sturges, turning from Danse and ignoring everyone else.

He shook himself like a dog and started tapping at the terminal.

"Yes Ma'am, we're as ready as we'll ever be." He told her as Haylen came up to his side, a satisfied look on her face.

"We're good." Haylen added, adjusting some knobs and dials.

"Then tell me where you want me." Max said, brushing away the tremble of fear that rushed through her.

At their prompting Max mounted the platform in the centre of the device and turned to face them. A crowd had gathered to watch. She looked at each of her friends one at a time and smiled reassuringly at them all as they all had the same expression on their faces. RJ, Cait, Curie, Preston (who was holding onto Dogmeat to keep him from running up to her) and Codsworth (who didn't have an expression as such), she could feel all of their anxiety. She looked down at Danse last. He wore an expression of apprehension, of fear and of hurt.

"Please don't do this." He pleaded inaudibly.

She tore her eyes away from his and looked back to Sturges and Haylen.

"Hit it, guys." She ordered.

Sturges nodded and started the Signal interceptor up. The air was suddenly alive with electricity and noise, it made every part of her tingle and not in a good way. She gulped and closed her eyes for a beat, praying silently not to explode or do anything as equally undignified. Her eyes flew open at the sound of something tearing free of the machine. The hose that Haylen had been judiciously taping up had come loose and was flapping around wildly. Danse had started forward but was being held back by Preston and a couple of the other settlers. Sturges was shouting something at her but she couldn't hear it. There was sudden flash of blinding light and she felt… what? What did she feel? Like she was being torn apart…

She didn't have time to ponder it as her vision cleared and she was standing in a foreign looking chamber. Her stomach heaved and she stumbled to her hands and knees, retching onto the floor.

She regained control of her stomach quickly and ran a shaking hand over her face. She got to her feet slowly and placed a steadying hand on the wall. She waited a moment for her body to adjust to the experience of being disassembled and put back together again before drawing her pistol and slinking deeper into the halls of the Institute. There was only one thing on her mind.

* * *

Danse stared at the spot that she had been standing in only moments before. He blinked in disbelief and shook off the hands of Preston, two men he didn't recognise and surprisingly Jun long, the meek and melancholy Quincy survivor, who had all taken hold of him when he had started for the machine.

She was gone. He swallowed loudly.

"Is she safe?" He asked looking helplessly over at Sturges and Haylen who quite frankly looked as equally surprised as everyone else that she wasn't standing there anymore.

"Uhhhh…" Sturges looked down at the terminal trying to find the answer.

"Did it work?" Danse near shouted at him.

Haylen stepped quickly up to him, putting her hands firmly against his chest.

"The Interceptor says it worked," She conciliated. "but we won't know for sure unless… until we see her again."

Danse looked down at her, his brow furrowed in a pained frown.

"She'll be OK." Haylen assured him, "I'm sure she's OK."

No one really knew what to do now. Did they just go about their business? Tend the vegetables, visit the traders? Even the newest settler, someone who had only ever heard of Maxine Everton knew that this was too big to just ignore.

Danse looked around vacantly. He eventually sought out Prestons face and Preston nodded quickly, taking charge of the shell shocked settlement. He started issuing orders to the people around him. Forcing them to turn away and get back to the everyday chores that kept the settlement running. Danse turned from the Machine and strode away.

* * *

It was a full week later.

Sanctuary Hills was on edge for a full week, not really getting back to a normal flow as a vital member of the settlement was missing. Maxs presence was missed at every turn. She may not have been in the township often, in fact very rarely did she show herself there. But everyone felt more secure knowing that she was out there in the Commonwealth, making it a better place.

They went about their business, but a pall had fallen over everyone.

Danse became near intolerable to be around. His temper was at a permanent boil, he snapped at everyone who dared address him and no one saw him rest or sleep. He stalked around the street or the vault, his face like a thundercloud. He took to standing watch all night on the main tower overlooking the bridge. Just looking out into the darkness.

It had been a full week, she had disappeared at four minutes past nine that morning. It would be a full week in five hours time he thought to himself, staring out into the early morning gloom. He shifted his laser rifle from one arm to the other and continued to stare out at the road across the river.

It took him an age to realise what he was looking at when he saw a faint movement on the roadway heading towards town. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head hanging down. Her helmet was gone and her hair hung like a dark veil over her face. Her step was unsteady but purposeful.

He was out of the tower and running across the bridge in as soon as he realised.

"Max!" He called in relief, his heart pounded at the sight of her. He skidded to a stop before her and put his hands on her arms.

She looked up at him, her eyes red, raw and ravaged.

"My son is dead." She whimpered. "I killed him."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 – What do you say to that?**

Her knees had buckled under her and she sank onto the aged boards of the bridge. Danse had knelt down with her, taken aback by first the sudden appearance of her and then by her defeated state. Whatever had happened inside the Institute had done a number on her. She had killed her son? What did that even mean? Had she literally and purposefully killed her child?

He wrapped his arms around her and held her in the darkness. She leaned her head against his chest and gulped in deep unsteady breaths.

There was the sound of soft footsteps on the bridge and Danse looked up at Elijah Hastings, the other man who had been on watch with him. Eli looked down at them both bundled together in the centre of the bridge. He was holding a lantern over his head, his eyes full of concern.

"Can you get someone else to cover the tower, Eli? I'm taking her inside." Danse informed him, easing his arms under Max and lifting her carefully from the boards.

Eli nodded silently and trotted back to his post and the ham radio to advise the vault that she was back.

Danse walked quickly and carefully into the township and up the hill to the vault entrance cradling Max close to him. He was met at the elevator by Preston, Curie and MacCready. He was out of breath, she wasn't heavy but it was a good hike up hill to the Vault. RJ helped carry her onto the platform and after the quick trip down, into Curies infirmary. They were all quiet. They could find out what had happened to her after they made sure that she was OK. Priority one was Max, everything else didn't matter.

The mood was subdued as Curie examined Max for injuries and the three men stood back to watch, their faces masks of worry for their friend. Max had a seeping wound on her upper thigh, had sustained several laser burns, she was dehydrated and exhausted.

Curie had Preston stay and help her undress Max so that she could clean and treat her patient, she shooed the other two men out of the infirmary. RJ and Danse stood uncertainly in the corridor after the door had closed, they looked at each other and then back at the closed door, not sure if they should leave or wait. Danse wasn't going to leave. He stepped up to the wall and slid down it to the floor. And there he sat. MacCready followed his lead and sat next to him, searching his person for a cigarette and lighter. He offered the packet to Danse who silently shook his head and continued to watch the closed door.

Danse wasn't sure how long they sat there side by side, but as time passed, more people took up watch with them, Cait, Sturges, Haylen, Rhys, the Longs. Codsworth float up and down the hallway in a Mr Handy version of pacing. Dogmeat had lain down by Danse and placed his head in the Paladins lap, Danse absently stroked the dogs head.

When Preston emerged in what must have been hours later, everyone leaped to their feet, scrambling from the floor and from chairs that had been dragged into the hall and confronted him.

"Meeting in the Overseers office, now." Preston announced, holding up one hand to hold them off "I'll tell you what I know."

He turned to walk away before quickly turning back and adding "She's OK, she's sleeping now."

Everyone followed him as he led the way to the office, Danse paused and looked back at the closed Infirmary door, wanting to look in on her with his own eyes to make sure she was OK, but torn as he wanted to know what Preston had discovered as well.

He caught up to the group and filed with them into the office turning to Preston, eager for news. Preston sat down at the desk to face them all and ran a tired hand over his stubbled chin in concentration. He looked up at the group catching their eyes one at a time.

"The interceptor worked…" He began, trying to formulate a rational narrative as he spoke. Max hadn't said much, she was dazed and staring into space but he had gleaned a few pearls from her sporadic bursts of speech. "It put her into the transporter room. She used the terminal right away…" He held up a holotape and tossed it into the waiting hands of Sturges, who deftly caught it, noting its charred and blood smeared appearance.

"She wasn't undetected," Preston continued, "she was detained and taken to the Institutes head right away. It's a bit hazy as to what happened at that meeting but she was apparently given free reign over the whole facility… which doesn't make sense, right?" He looked around the gathering, whatever she said had happened had raised more questions than it had answered and Preston was having a hard time wrapping his head around it.

"Anyway, she said that she wandered around for a while, she's mapped out almost the whole facility on her pipboy. She broke into an abandoned section to find Virgils serum…" He stopped and stared into nothing for a second and then shook his head. " … uhh… she didn't come back here right away when she left the Institute, she apparently went to the Glowing Sea first, that's why she was gone so long… she said she had given her word."

The crowd were watching him quietly struggle with the information, waiting as patiently as they could before they barraged him with questions.

"I'm not too sure what happened next though. She … uuhh, sort of went into hysterics… uhhh… She said that she was talking to Shaun, they got into a fight or something and she shot him. But she also said she was talking to father? I don't know. But she said she annihilated the SRB… I'm not sure what that is either… but it all caused a bit of bother. She must have been under all out attack and had to flee for her life."

He looked around again as the questions began firing at him.

She shot Shaun? She killed him? That can't be right, maybe she felt responsible for him dying, not literally killed him. Who's father? What's SRB? How did she go to the Sea first without Power Armour? When could they see her? Could they see her map?

Danse backed out of the room and walked back to the Infirmary. He knocked on the door and waited. The synth doctor, Curie, opened the door and let him in after a cursory glance. Max was lying on the raised gurney in the centre of the room, a clean blanket draped over her naked & battered body. She was clean now her damp hair pushed back from her face and pooling on the cot, her skin pale and glowing under the pallor of fatigue and the scars of her mauling. She looked at rest now. The tortured look, the deep seated aching, gone for at least a little while. What would she look like when she woke?

He pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down next to Max.

"Will she be OK?" He asked Curie, not looking up from Maxs face.

"Physically, she could be out of bed by zis evening." Curies thick French accent gave her voice an almost singsong quality that seemed inappropriate. "Mentally zough, I fear she 'as experienced some trauma zat may take much longer to 'eal. We will need to watch 'er, to make sure she does not take too much on."

Danse nodded absently. For some reason, Danse felt a lot more trust towards Curie than he should… maybe because while she was a synth, she wasn't 'pure' one. Maybe it was just because she was doctor.

He wanted to hold Maxs hand, but thought that would not be appropriate. She was still his commanding officer after all, even though he considered her a close friend, his duty came first. So he just sat next to her watching her sleep.

Maxs lips moved suddenly and her voice carried to him faintly. "Are you enjoying the view?"

Her eyes opened and fixed on his and the ghost of a smile appeared. Curie came to her side and Danse sat up straight and leaned towards her.

"What a week, huh?" She drawled drowsily, before trying to sit up.

Danse put his hand out to stop her from moving without thinking, catching a handful of her breast. He yanked his hand back as if it had been burned. Max chuckled softly.

"Perving and copping a feel? Well, I do declare Paladin Danse, you rogue."

He blushed to the roots of his hair and she took the opportunity to complete her attempt to sit up, holding the blanket around her as she swung her feet over the side of the gurney. Curie tutted about her moving about but didn't try to stop her. Max didn't make an attempt to stand so Curie was content to allow her to sit on the side of the cot.

"Where are my clothes?" Max asked, looking around the room. "I've got shit to do."

"Absolutely not!" Curie and Danse answered her at the same time and exchanged a quick look.

"You 'ave 'ad a traumatic week. You are on bed rest." Curie protested.

Max made a very indelicate sound. "Don't be foolish, Curie. I have a permanent way into the Institute now and with my pipboy we may be able to find another way in as well. I need to speak to Arthur Maxson. I met a doctor on the inside that he will find very interesting. I need to go and collect Brian Virgil from the Glowing Sea. I need Sturges to analyse the Data bank that I retrieved. There's too much to do."

She hopped off the Gurney and started for the door, dragging the blanket with her. Danse took hold of her arm to stop her.

She looked down at his hand and then slowly raised her eyes to his. The look was dead, there was nothing remotely friendly in it. It was the look of a stone cold killer and he almost flinched back from her. He didn't flinch though, his own look hardened.

"You will sit back down." He growled. "and you will stay there until released by the Doctor."

He watched her face as she absorbed what he had said, her eyes narrowed. Curie backed up slowly until her back was hard against the wall, something was about to happen and she did not want to be in the crossfire.

"Richard. I am going to give you to the count of three to release my arm." She warned in a chilling voice. "After that, I will not be responsible for my actions"

She was half a foot shorter than him, but for a moment Danse figured she was about ten feet tall. Without direct consultation with his brain, his hand released her of it's own volition.

"We're still friends." She said before pushing past him and striding out into the corridor, her blanket dragging along the floor behind her.

He looked helplessly at Curie who stared back, also at a loss. Max was the General, The Boss and that look she just gave him and the way that she spoke made him reassess her yet again. There was more to her yet. He had known her for months. He had travelled with her, slept beside her and _that_ side of her had not shown itself until now. It was dark and intimidating. He remembered the talk they had had at Greygarden. When she had talked about her 'special' training. He thought now that maybe it was the side he had just seen.

He ducked into the corridor and followed after her. She was showing no sign of the exhaustion and agony that she was wracked by only a few short hours ago. She moved with quick and purposeful steps he caught up with her just as she reached the Overseers quarters. She opened the door and stepped through.

"Everyone out." She ordered to the congregation of her closest friends. "Except you, Sturges and Haylen."

They had all turned at her entrance and were taking in her blanket draped appearance with astonishment.

"NOW!" She ordered again with uncharacteristic force.

They all exchanged looks with each other and slowly filed out of the room. Leaving Preston and Danse standing uncertainly looking at each other and at Sturges and Haylen.

She walked into her room and came back a moment later without the blanket. Instead she was in a tight white tank top and zipping up a pair of leather pants. She had her spare boots tucked under one arm and her spare jacket under the other.

"Preston. Go and find my pipboy, armour, belt and pistol." She didn't look at him, just continued to dress.

He looked at Danse, a question in his eyes that he didn't voice, something along the lines of 'what the fuck is going on?'. He left the room instead to find her stuff.

"Sturges, Haylen." She looked up at them as she laced up one of her boots. "I need you guys to work on the Holotape, did Preston give it to you?... good. Also, I want you to go over my pipboy. I have a chip or something in it now. Don't take it out or damage it. But see if it can be replicated. Also, I mapped out the interior of the Institute. I want a large hard copy made, several if you have time."

She looked at Danse who still hovered in the Doorway. "You. Suit up, we're going back to the Glowing Sea to get Virgil. I doubt he waited to use his serum so we'll need a hazmat suit for him so we can lead him back on the off chance it was a success."

She zipped up her jacket and looked up at them standing in the same spots and staring at her.

"What are you guys waiting for? We're at War."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 – Jerks & Robots**

Dr Brian Virgil was set up in a new lab. Lab was probably a loose term considering it had formerly been the storeroom on the back of a drive-in movie screen, but he had been almost overjoyed at the large clean space that wasn't a cave in the middle of the Glowing Sea.

His appearance had been drastically altered since Danse had seen him last. The enormous supermutant was gone and in its place was a medium height, youngish man with a shock of dark brown hair and keen, intelligent eyes. Max, Danse and Virgil had lugged as much of the research material as they could carry and cached the rest for retrieval later. Virgil had enough to continue his research unimpeded though and started setting up as soon as he had seen his new space and they had left him to it.

Max set a bruising pace back to Sanctuary. Danse didn't need to wonder why she went through so many fusion cores when she insisted on running in her armour all of the time.

He was still worried about her state of mind. She had said nothing since the morning she got back from the Institute about what had happened. She didn't elaborate on what Preston had got out of her while she was being treated for her injuries. She seemed to have reverted back to her high spirited and amusing self. He wasn't fooled, he had seen the darkness in her eyes, but he didn't want to push her. He needed her to talk about it with him willingly.

As they jogged up through Concord, they saw one of the roving patrols of Minutemen. They were intending on nodding greeting and continuing on but they were flagged down by the group. Max stopped and waited for one of the men to run up to them.

"Sanctuary have been trying to get hold of you, Ma'am." The man said quickly. "The Brotherhood guy has stolen something and taken off… and there's something wrong with Sturges. You need to go to the vault a soon as you get back, General."

"Rhys stole something? That's preposterous!" Danse looked outraged at the accusation.

"That's what they said, sir." The Minuteman insisted.

Max thanked the guy for his warning and took off at a good paced run towards Sanctuary.

They made good time and were soon descending into the vault. Max was out of her armour before they reached the bottom. She took the steps up into the vault a few at a time and almost ran into Preston as he crossed walkway in the other direction.

"What's happened?" She asked before he could register it was her that he had run into.

He looked over her shoulder at Danse who had stopped just behind her and then back at her.

"Knight Rhys has taken the Holotape of the Institute data bank." He supplied, still casting glances over her shoulder at her Brotherhood of Steel companion. "We should go to the office…"

"He stole the holotape and left? You're sure? Where's Haylen?" Danse interrupted.

"Haylen is looking after Sturges," Preston advised, "He's had a bit of a shock… I'll explain what happened in the office."

Danse drew breath to speak again, but Max turned and gave him a glare and walked after Preston, who had walked through the entranceway and proceeded down the corridor to the office. Danse followed. They closed the door to the office and Preston walked around the desk to seat himself. Max dragged one of the other chairs closer and straddled it, crossing her arms over the back. Danse remained standing.

"I'm going to start at the beginning," Preston began right away. "Sturges decrypted the information on the holotape and he got a bit of a shock… like I said. The Institute had a list of Synths that had gone missing, he didn't go through everyone of them but... There's no easy way to say this, but _he_ was one of them."

Max raised her eyebrows in surprise. Sturges was a synth?

"He went to Curie right away and asked if there was a way to tell if it was true. She has fine tuned some of her equipment to scan for synth components, Sturges is a synth. He didn't know… he's not taking it too well." Preston sighed and ran his hand over his stubbled jaw.

"That's not all." Preston reported uneasily, looking at Danse. "Early yesterday morning at some time, Rhys broke into Sturges room and took the holotape and one of the schematics that Haylen had drawn up of the interior of the institute and left Sanctuary. He also downloaded copies of Haylen and Danses reports and accessed one of the ham radios. He's obviously taking everything back to the brotherhood base, a vertibird was seen not far from here, they must have picked him up."

Max closed here eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She turned her head and looked up at Danse. He just stood there in disbelief.

"Is Haylen OK?" Max asked, looking back at Preston.

He nodded. "She more concerned about Sturges than anything else. She still has your pipboy, she was wearing it so he didn't get it. We also have copies of everything he took"

"This makes no sense." Danse exclaimed, "You were going to share all of the information anyway. Why…?"

"Looks like Arthur doesn't trust me after all… huh, and I thought we had really bonded." Max murmured.

"Looks like he doesn't trust me either," Danse added in a troubled voice "to go to one of my subordinates, to be so underhanded."

"Unless Rhys acted alone… to score brownie points with the boss." Max added, trying to reassure him, "and to be fair Danse, I would have given Maxson an abridged version of the information, not a backstage pass. I wouldn't have endangered the lives of any of the Synths on that list." Danse just nodded, his brow still furrowed.

Max stood up. "Let's go see what we have then…" She said as she went to find Sturges and Haylen.

Haylen opened Sturges' door to them when Max knocked. They heard his voice coming from within "I don't wanna see anyone, Sophie."

Haylen locked eyes with Max in relief and then looked to Danse, her expression changed to one of fear... fear of what Danse, as a Brotherhood Paladin, might do to her new friend. Danse felt a little hurt by it.

Max shook her head impatiently and shoved her way through the door.

"Too bad, I'm in now, you may as well talk to me." Max looked down at her friend, one of the first people that she met in this place. He looked like he hadn't slept, eaten or bathed in days. Her heart went out to him. She could relate to having your whole world ripped away from you in an instant. He must be so confused.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, so Max sank to the floor in front of him and took his hands in hers. He looked like a lost little boy.

"This doesn't change a single thing for me or anyone else. You are still you." Max soothed him.

"But I'm not… nothing was real…" His voice cracked.

"Don't be so bloody stupid." She admonished him softly. "What wasn't real? If you can see it, touch it, taste it and feel it… it happened."

"I wasn't born, I was grown in a lab…" He started again.

"Pfft…" She interrupted again "Who cares. No one pays attention to the prologue. It's the story that counts. You are flesh and blood. Full stop."

"I have synth parts in me." he said miserably.

"And I have 5.56 round wedged in my chest cavity. It's no more organic than your synth component and it doesn't make me gun, though that would be cool."

"My memories aren't real." He began yet again, ignoring the quip.

"Really?" She questioned. "You didn't live in Quincy? You didn't survive the massacre? You didn't meet me in Concord, or help build up Sanctuary? You didn't kiss Sophie at my Birthday party?" she added the last bit slyly.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, his face coloured a little.

"I see everything, Elton." She smiled softly at him. "I need you to at least pretend that you can get over this. I need you."

"We need you, Elton" Haylen spoke softly from behind Max.

Sturges glanced over Max's shoulder.

"What about the Brotherhood? Won't they want me dead?" Sturges addressed the question to Haylen.

Haylen knelt down beside Max and touched Sturges face with soft fingers.

"They'll have to go through me first" She whispered.

"Actually, they'll have to go through me too and the entirety of the Commonwealth Minutemen." Max asserted. "Sturges, _nothing_ has changed."

He nodded, looking down at the two most important women in his life. The two women who were validating his existence as something more than just a cruel trick. If it didn't matter to his idol and the girl he was falling in love with, then he'd try and make it not matter to him. He'd try.

"We need to go over the theft." Danses hard voice penetrated the cone of solidarity across the room. He had been silently standing by the door, watching the proceedings with distaste. Haylen had all but said that she was leaving the Brotherhood to be with a synth and there was Max sitting at its feet and acting like it was just as human as anyone else.

Max looked back at him, she could almost have forgotten that he was there, he was so quiet. If it hadn't been for the aura of thinly veiled revulsion emanating from him, that is.

"He's right, we need to see what Rhys got away with." Max said, trying to ignore the disquiet Danses coldness had stirred up. She stood and held her hand out for Sturges to stand.

He stared at her outstretched hand for a moment before hesitantly taking it and standing beside her. Haylen joined them and they turned as one towards Danse.

"He only got in here because I was felling a little under the weather." Sturges said a little sheepishly, making light of his breakdown and getting down to business.

"I have copies of everything, they're locked up now, but that's like closing the gate after the Brahmin's bolted." Haylen added. "Everything's in my room except this." She unbuckled the pipboy from her wrist and handed it to Max, who strapped it back on with a little relief. She had grown accustomed to it and she had missed its weight over the last few days.

Max and Danse followed Haylen and Sturges from the room and made their way to the surface and the house allocated to visitors and new arrivals.

Everyone in Sanctuary knew that Sturges was a synth by now, but no one acted any differently towards him as they walked by. Max felt a swell of pride towards her people.

Once inside the house, Haylen stooped down to the safe embedded in the floor of her room and extracted everything that Sturges and she had discovered about the Institute. They took it to the dining area and each took a chair to go over everything that was there.

"I have two more copies of the schematic of the Institute site, there's actually very little that you missed I think , most of the upper floors are living quarters and you didn't visit everyones domicile obviously, and you also missed some other areas in the labs, storage, possible extensions…" Max poured over the maps, there were not many gaps unless the facility ran for several floors deeper than she thought or there were off shoot corridors that detracted from it's overall cylindrical shape. The maps needed to be analysed for a possible way in other than teleportation.

"They kept immaculate records on their synths." Haylen continued, handing over several folders full of hard copies of data. "This top folder is the list of Gen 3 synths that have escaped or been recorded as missing. The second one is for synths currently out in the commonwealth on assignment. Then there's the coursers and the ones onsite in the facility."

Max opened the top folder and right at the top was a picture of Sturges – L4-85. She flipped through the folder, spotting a couple of familiar faces including Glory and their own Curie, or at least the synth whose body that Curie now inhabited. She shut the folder and picked up the next. She recognised one of the synths in that folder. Art, his name had been Art… huh? She stopped a couple of pages later and held up the picture to Sturges.

"Roger Warwick." She said.

Sturges nodded. "Preston is already on it. He went through that folder first"

"There's info on their experiments, day to day maintenance and house keeping…" Haylen continued. Max picked up the first folder again and started flipping through the pages one at a time, curious as to how many of the 'missing' synths she had encountered with the Railroad. She smiled as she recognised a few faces.

She turned the next page and froze. Her eyes flicked from the page in front of her to the man across the table, the strong masculine jaw and warm chocolate coloured eyes.

Oh Dear.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Another filler chapter - I really wanted to use more of the dialogue from the game. I love that I'm getting reviews. I hope I get more, I'd love your opinions. Story will move along in the next chapter, I promise :)**

 **Chapter 16 – Good talk…**

Max was torn… should she say something? How do you tell someone that everything that they knew was wrong? That they weren't who they thought that they were? That they were, in fact, something that they had been taught to abhor.

It wasn't that Danse was more fragile than Sturges. Far from it, he was one of the strongest people she knew, but he took everything to heart. He shouldered so many burdens, everyone elses as well as his own and he had a big problem with letting things go. She couldn't just hold up his picture and blurt out 'Hey Danse, it's you.'

She had taken the page out of the folder and shoved it into one of her pockets, they had said that they hadn't seen all of the pictures yet. Preston had wanted to identify the assigned synths and the coursers first as they were a real threat, they were going to get onto the missing ones next, maybe talk to the Railroad and see how many they could identify, maybe get an audience with some of them to find out how they got out… no one had seen Danses picture yet. No one but her. Except…

What if Rhys had only intended to look at the information, but had seen Danses picture and took it back to Maxson. Even if that weren't true, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered it for themselves anyway. Danse could be in real danger now... from his own people. Would Maxson consider him a traitor? For something that Danse didn't even know about?

Did Danse know? No, He couldn't know, Sturges hadn't.

Max was lying on her bed in the confines of her room. The four of them had talked for some time on the surface. They had discussed what they had discovered, talked about Virgils successful serum and his subsequent relocation to Starlight Drive-in. She had concluded the meeting and excused herself not long after.

She lay on top of her blankets and pulled the page from her pocket and gazed the picture.

He had aged since the image had been taken, not much but enough to see that he had filled out a bit, he had scars now and his eyes were different, probably from all of the frowning. His designation was M7-97, not that it mattered, he had a name.

She needed to keep this to herself for as long as possible. If the Brotherhood came after him, she would protect him somehow. It would be the same with all of her friends.

There was a light tap at her door and she jumped guiltily. She stuffed the paper back into her pocket and stood to open the door.

"May I have a word with you, Max?" Danse asked her politely as her door slid open.

"Sure thing, PD. What's up?" She stepped aside for him to enter and motioned for him to sit.

He was dressed in faded jeans and a minimally stained white tee-shirt that, like everything else he had borrowed from around Sanctuary, look strained across the chest and threatened to burst open at the biceps. He entered and sat down on the side of her bed, looking up at her expectantly.

"You want a drink or something? I don't have any coffee but …" Max asked before settling herself next to him after he shook his head.

He looked like he was struggling with something and it didn't take a psychic to guess what it was. He sat in silence for a moment, formulating his thoughts.

"I'm sorry." He began.

"Sorry? What for?" Max asked in surprise.

"For what Rhys did, for the betrayal of your trust." He looked into her eyes, his own shining with sincerity. "He was under my command. I thought he was loyal to me"

"Rhys' first loyalty is to the Brotherhood." Max replied.

"As should mine be." He asserted. "But such tactics are beneath us and there is a chain of command that should have been followed. The Brotherhood don't skulk off under the cover of darkness." Danse shook his head. "He should have come to me first, before taking things into his own hands."

"You know I don't agree with the Brotherhood on everything…" Max said, thinking that if Rhys had seen Danses picture, he would never have gone to his commanding officer.

"No, you have made that abundantly clear on a number of occasions and across several octaves." He smiled lightly.

"Rhys probably did what he thought was right. Synths are the Brotherhoods enemy. No Question." Max grimaced, "but I can't take that stance. Not when I know how many of them are good people; Nick, Curie and Sturges. You might not agree with me, but I trust all three of them with my life."

He nodded but didn't say anything for a while.

"I know this may sound like a strange question," He said carefully, "but tell me… what do you think about Scribe Haylen?"

Max looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I simply want to talk to you about her but I wanted to know what you thought of her first."

Max wasn't sure where this was going so she went for a diplomatic, noncommittal response. "She's as dedicated as they come, a real team player."

Danse smiled softly, sensing the measured vibe. "I couldn't agree more, but I wasn't looking for a professional evaluation of her performance as a scribe, I wanted to know what you thought of Haylen… as a person"

"As a person… hmmm… so there _is_ heart beating under all of that armour after all?" Max grinned.

"I suppose I deserve that." He smiled again, it was true. He was a professional soldier, which could be interpreted as detached and cold at times. "I just don't normally find these discussions easy to handle, so I try to avoid them at all costs. But you said I could talk to you about anything and I feel that you weren't just humouring me."

"Of course I wasn't just humouring you... anything, anytime." She put her hand on his thigh and smiled encouragingly.

He tried very hard to ignore the warmth of her hand permeating though his jeans and the light pressure of her touch and instead concentrated on what he wanted to say.

"The truth is, I'm worried about her and since you and I get along so well, I thought I could confide in you about it and get your honest opinion."

"You don't think that talking to Haylen directly…"

"If you'd allow me to explain. I think you'd understand precisely why that wouldn't be appropriate." He interrupted. He wanted to get something out, Max nodded and let him continue uninterrupted. He took a breath and started.

"A few months before you found us, one of my men was shot multiple times by raiders. Haylen stayed by that knights side for two days straight without sleeping, fighting to keep him alive… but he was in slow decline. I decided that his suffering needed to end and I ordered Haylen to administer an overdose of painkillers so he could die with dignity." He took another deep breath and frowned deeply. "Even though I'm certain she wanted to continue fighting for the knights life, she injected him without question." He looked at her, his eyes taking on that tortured look that she had seen before. "Now, I stand by every order I've ever given. The soldier was gravely wounded and even if by some miracle he happened to survive, he would have been paralysed for life. But the decision on whether or not to ease that soldiers suffering isn't the point here… the point is what happened that same evening."

Danse paused and eased himself back onto the bed, resting his back against the wall and laying his head back to stare the ceiling. Max followed suit and took his hand. He looked down at her fingers and slowly entwined his with hers.

"Haylen approached me while I was on watch. She didn't say a word but I could feel something was wrong" He was staring at their hands as he went on "After what felt like an eternity she collapsed into my arms, crying. I didn't know what to do so, I just held her for a while. A few minutes later she stopped, kissed me on the cheek and simply said 'thank you' before heading back into the police station."

"Right then it hit me, maybe I pushed her too hard. I ordered her to ignore her instincts, to do something her medical training told her was wrong. That's why I'm worried about her… and for that matter everyone under my command or otherwise."

Something clicked into place in Max's mind. "Don't use Haylen as an excuse… this is about you." She said gently.

"Yeah." He agreed, "I suppose you're right."

He looked up into her eyes and tightened his grip on her hand.

"Look, four soldiers. Over half of my men are gone. Each of them died because of decisions I made. I understand the risks of the job, we all do but how can anyone have confidence in me anymore… Hell, how can I have confidence in myself? And now Rhys has gone…. Haylen is abandoning the Brotherhood… I don't even _have_ a squad now"

Max held his gaze. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I believed in you?" she whispered.

He thought for a moment in silence and his expression lightened. "Actually it does. I'm pleased that I came to you and with the problems you're facing, you took the time to listen to mine. It's comforting to know that I can speak to you as… as a friend." He squeezed her hand again and went to release it and stand but she held him fast.

"So, does this mean you'd be there to hold me if I ever needed it?" She surprised herself by how flirty that sounded.

"I... uhhh… I don't know." He floundered, blushing brightly. "I never thought that you'd ask me something like that." He tried to get control of his suddenly roiling emotions. She had such pretty green eyes. He cleared his throat and adopted a more professional demeanour. "It would depend on the circumstances, but I suppose we'll just have to see what happens if and when the time comes."

He made to stand again and this time she let him go.

"Anyway, thanks for letting me get that off my shoulders." He said casually, looking down at her, "I think it's been weighing on me more than I realised. I'm only sorry that you keep on having to see me at my worst instead of my best."

"Please don't hate her for the choice that she's made." Max implored him as he turned to go. "Rhys did what he thought was right… and so is Haylen."

"I can't understand why she is giving everything up for that synth" He faced the door as it opened to let him out. "but, I don't hate her… I don't even hate the synth, though I can't explain why."

He didn't look back at her as he left. The door closed behind him and Max sat quietly contemplating their conversation.

She was pleased he'd come to her to talk, even though he took a round about way to get to his point, he had simply needed validation and reassurance. He trusted her and now it weighed on her. She knew something that could very well break him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – Like a Bridge over Irradiated Water**

Sturges was doing much better than many people would have thought that he would. If faced with the same revelation, many would have crumbled without any hope of being put back together. The people of Sanctuary did wonder if there were more among their population who were unknowingly synths, some had even gone to Curie to check, but watching Sturges made most of them less worried about the implications of it. He was the same and with Haylen at his side, he may have been even better.

The two of them worked tirelessly on the Institute problem, Pouring over pages and pages of data, filtering out the useful stuff, filing the interesting for inspection later and discarding the stuff that was just dumb… synth gorillas… really?

They had sent holotapes of information to Virgil at Starlight to see if he could help decrypt some of the more obscure ideas and also sought to replicate the chip that had been placed in Maxs pipboy. The chip that allowed her to travel to and from the Institute at will.

She had not utilised it yet and some didn't think that she ever would. What had happened on her first trip to the Institute was still shrouded in mystery, but no one was willing to broach the subject with her. Those who had seen her when she had stumbled back into town, had seen her as close to broken as a person could get and it had disturbed them to find that the invincible Maxine Everton was not quite so invincible.

Preston concentrated on keeping the Minutemen settlements chugging forward and also expanding their influence. Every settlement had been put on alert, defenses were checked and bolstered, smaller homesteaders bought in behind the walls. No one was really sure what the Brotherhood was going to do, if anything, but they wanted to be ready for it.

It was the longest that Max had spent inside the confines of the vault, not including the time that she was there as an icicle. She found herself in the thick of it all. Her mind was occupied twenty four, seven with every possible facet of every possible planning point and right by her side was Danse. She wondered at the fact. He still didn't know what she knew, so shouldn't he have wanted to return to the Prydwen? Shouldn't he have followed Rhys to chastise him for breaking the rules set out by the Brotherhood codex or whatever it's called and for effectively going AWOL from his unit, whatever his reasons?

It's not that she wanted him to go but she was unsure of his reasons for staying.

It was only a matter of time before the Brotherhood found out about Danse, she wished she knew what was coming. She was going to find out very soon.

She was on the ham radio situated in the overseers office listening intently to Brian Virgil on the other end of the call.

"I can replicate the chip…" Virgil was saying, "But unless you have more pipboys lying around it will do you no good… it would be so much easier if Dr Li was available to adapt it. I'm Bioscience, this tech is almost as unfamiliar to me as it is to you."

"I wonder if Vault 81 would lend us their pipboys" Max mused. She sighed. "Thanks Virgil, anything else I need to know?

"I've synthesised more of the serum for my strain of FEV, not sure if that's helpful to you… do you have any Supermutants with my strain of FEV lying around?

"I'll check my pockets later and let you know." She smiled into the radio and signed off.

Preston was sitting on the desk next to her.

"We could ask 81?" He pondered. "I'll send a provisioner out to them. And maybe we could send out a few people with syringer rifles, take pot shots at Mutants? I don't know, it could work on a few of them…"

"What about the poor folks it does work on? Won't their former mutant buddies just eat them as soon as they became human again?"

Preston shrugged. "It was a thought."

Max smiled, a smile that slipped from her face as one of sentries came barrelling through the office door winded and wild eyed.

"We couldn't get you on the radio… we have company on the bridge." He puffed out, he bent over, hands on his knees dragging in breath after breath after what looked to be a desperate run for help.

Max was on her feet in a second, striding down the corridor towards the elevator, she loosened her pistol in its holster

"Who is it?" She asked, taking her new helmet from Preston, who was walking at her flank loading his laser musket.

"It's the Brotherhood of Steel, they're on the other side of the river, they haven't made a move yet" The sentry said, keeping up but still fighting for his breath.

"How many?" Preston enquired crisply.

"All of them, I think?" the sentry advised.

The elevator broke the surface and Max stepped off it. She walked fast, not wanting to seem out of breath herself. She needed to maintain the demeanour of calm.

"Where is Danse?" She asked quickly, looking urgently at Preston.

"I sent him to Abernathy Farm, Blakes wife said that she had acquired some Brotherhood jumpsuits and he wanted to see them." Preston advised.

She neared Sanctuarys front gates, noting that citizens were manning the walls, all of them were armed and ready for a fight.

"Make sure that we don't neglect the rest of the perimeter, I don't want them sneaking up on us." Max instructed Preston as she came to a stop in front of the gate. Preston nodded and walked away. She inclined her head briefly at the men manning the gate and it swung ponderously open.

She stepped out onto the boards of the bridge and walked confidently to the center. She stopped there and waited, her helmet tucked under one arm.

At the far side of the river two vertibirds squatted on the tarmac of the old road. She took note of the defenses they held and noted the two lancers that manned them. On the ground there were a dozen power armoured soldiers, all holding oversized Gatling lasers, and standing at their head was Elder Arthur Maxson himself.

She nodded her head at the youthful leader, indicating that he should come forward. She had estimated his age at around twenty five, Danse had told her he was merely twenty. She smirked at the youngster as he marched smartly onto the bridge and came to stop a few feet from her.

"Max." He greeted her, his tone formal.

"Arthur, so nice to see you again." She replied genially, "What brings you all the way out here on this fine day?"

"We have come into some information concerning one of our Paladins…" He began.

"…Oh really?" She interrupted, "Came into it did you?… how did you happen to 'come into' it?"

He narrowed his piercing eyes, clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forwards

"I'm not here to play with you. You are to hand over the treasonous synth and Scribe Haylen to me at once."

Maxs grin must have been as wide as the Cheshire cats

"You seem to be acting under the misconception that you have some kind of authority here. You're in my house now, kid." She leaned towards him, mirroring his stance, "I'm gonna say this nice and slow and I'll use small words… so you can fully comprehend my meaning. I am not going to 'Hand Over' Paladin Danse or Scribe Haylen. They are now officially under the protection of the Commonwealth Minutemen." She glanced over his shoulder to the armoured knights, she had a hunch _he_ was there.

"You, however, will 'hand over' the thief, Knight Rhys. Frankly, I am surprised he has not been formally reprimanded by you."

"And what do you know of Brotherhood protocol." Maxson enquired cordially.

"Rhys went AWOL, stole the property of a Brotherhood ally and broke with the Brotherhood codex..." She continued, "… I believe you call it the 'chain that binds'. Also Arthur, I'd like to know why you have mobilised here. This is all very threatening." She waved her hand in the air absently to indicate the show of force behind him.

He was not prepared for the womans knowledge of the Brotherhood. He stayed silent and appraised her again.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Arthur." She warned "You're not in the Capital anymore. You have what? A company of soldiers with you? Two hundred against the whole Commonwealth… that's ballsy, I'll give you that."

"The Synth known as Paladin Danse is now an enemy of the Brotherhood. It must be turned over to us for immediate destruction. Scribe Haylen is absent without leave and must be turned over to the Brotherhood to face the consequences." Maxson insisted.

"Bullshit! You put Danse, Rhys and Haylen under my command. Danse and Haylen are still here… however Rhys?... not sure where he got to? He is the only one who's not where he should be."

"The deal was Brotherhood assistance in exchange for information, you withheld information."

"Bullshit again Arthur, the deal was for information pertaining to the infiltration and destruction of the Institute, which I have been sharing and would have continued to share if it hadn't been stolen out from under me by your little lap dog. Danse identity was not part of our agreement. Danse, Rhys and Haylen are still mine."

"I want Danse!" Maxson suddenly shouted. He slammed his fist into the railing of the bridge, making the wood splinter.

"Well, I want a pony. We don't always get what we want." Max replied, keeping her cool.

"I want you to understand something, woman." Maxson seethed adjusting the collar of his coat. "This isn't over. If Danse is seen by any member of the Brotherhood, he will be fired upon. The Brotherhood will not stand for the existence of such... atrocities of technology. To have one hiding amongst our ranks is an outrage that can't be tolerated."

"Hey, keep your temper Arthur, the kids are watching." She smiled a little smugly. "We're not getting anywhere. You want him. And I'm not giving him up."

"You have everything that we have on the Institute now so we can go our separate ways. I don't think either of us can afford to fight a war on two fronts. Like I said, I don't want to be your enemy… But I will be, if I have to. If you make me"

"Do you really think that a group of farmers can hold off a technologically superior, highly trained force?" Maxson asked threateningly.

"You'd surprised what a group of farmers defending their homes can do." She replied seriously.

Maxson took a deep steadying breath. "You're a very stubborn woman." He said with grudging admiration.

"Thanks" She beamed back at him.

"I'm not giving you Rhys and I'm not about to start a battle out here today. But I mean what I said. Danse is now an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel. Nothing more than a machine that will be eliminated if it is stumbled upon." He thought for a moment "Scribe Haylen, however, is still welcome to return to the Prydwen. She will not face charges as she was acting on orders from her supposed superior. We will not require any more assistance in infiltrating the Institute. Our deal is off. You're on your own."

With that Arthur Maxson turned on his heal and strode from the bridge.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 – Cold, Cold Heart?**

Max could almost hear the collective sigh of relief coming from the settlers of Sanctuary as the vertibirds took of in a cloud of swirling dust. She cocked a little smile as she watched the remaining power armoured Brotherhood knights, the ones who didn't fit in the airships, stomp off down the road towards Concord. She thought that she noticed one of them hesitate and watch her for a beat longer than the others. Don't go too far Rhys, she thought, as the knight thumped after his fellows.

She turned back to the settlement and a cheer rose up from the townspeople. She shook her head in distaste. They were foolish, she might have defused this situation but she had also created a much worse one… all for selfish reasons. 'I'm not giving him up' She had said.

She walked back to the gate and met Preston.

"That was pretty tense. We couldn't hear… what did they want?" Preston queried.

"Danse." Max grunted. "Preston, I didn't want to put everyone at risk, but I have now. The Minutemen are now harbouring a Brotherhood traitor. Danse is Synth."

Prestons eyes flew open in surprise. "He… he wasn't on the list…"

"Yeah…. He kinda was." she grimaced. "I took the page. I didn't want him to see it."

Preston groaned and rubbed his hand over his eyes.

"Sorry?" She added, dubiously.

"So, now what?" He asked wearily, his shoulders slumping.

"We keep doing what we're doing. Help the people, find a way into the Institute. I need to talk to Haylen, they've offered her amnesty if she wants to return to the Brotherhood."

"She won't go." He stated matter of factly.

"No, she won't, but I'd better let her know about it. Preston, we have to be on our guard. They won't let Danse go. It's a big deal to have their ranks infiltrated by a synth, even if he didn't know he was one… and I don't think he did. We'll be watched closely." Max cautioned.

"And Danse?" He asked.

"I'll talk to him when he gets back… this is my fault, I should have done something as soon as I saw his picture…" She lowered her eyes in contrition.

He nodded and left her.

Max stood for moment at the gate, she absently scanned the opposite shore of the river, there was nothing there that she could see, but she wouldn't be surprised if some of those knights didn't return to the Prydwen and took up watch of the settlement from the undergrowth. She turned and walked back into the town and the gate lumbered closed behind her.

The two watchmen exchanged long looks and began to excitedly talk about what they had heard as soon as she was out of earshot. They told the change of watch and then the guy that ran the bar in the traders quadrant. The word of Danses identity spread throughout the settlement like wildfire.

Max returned to the Vault unaware. She sought out Haylen, who predictably dismissed the offer to return to the Brotherhood. Max hunkered down again. She hated meetings and planning. She was a person of action and all of this sitting around made her edgy. She needed something to do. When Danse got back from the Abernathy's, she'd walk out to a few of the settlements and see how they were faring, see if they had reinforced their towns as they had been asked to.

It was almost night when she roused herself… she had completely zoned out. Haylen had a glazed look in her eyes and Max was pretty sure Sturges was asleep with his eyes open. MacCready was actually blatantly asleep, his feet up on the table and his hat tipped over his eyes, snoring softly. Prestons voice droned on and on. She looked at her pipboy and wondered at the time. Danse should have been back by now. He should have been back hours ago, the farm wasn't that far away. The first thing he did when he came back from anywhere was check in with her, acting on the continuing fallacy that she was still his commanding officer and that is what soldiers did.

She stood up from her chair and left the common area, where they had spread out maps and papers on the large table. She didn't see Prestons expression, he had apparently been half way through a question to her when she had just stood and left.

She sat down in front of the radio and tuned to Abernathy Farm. Lucy answered. No, Danse left hours ago. Max bit her bottom lip, worry creeping into her brain. What if the Brotherhood had 'stumbled' upon him?

She radioed the gate and was surprised to learn that Danse _had_ returned hours ago and then left again. She stared at the radio in consternation. Why did he leave?

She stood up and left the vault. Where was Danse going? She had to find him, it was dangerous out there for him now. The Brotherhood were no doubt still hanging around trying to get a sniff of him. She went to the surface again to see if he had told anyone where he was going or why.

She wandered past the traders quadrant and clearly overheard, over the commotion of conversation by those not on duty, Danses name said again and again… paired indubitably with the word synth. She gasped. He knew, he'd heard before she had a chance to talk to him. Her eyes darted from face to face of the gossip mongers of Sanctuary, hating each of them. She gulped in air and felt her heart thump in panic. She broke into a run and skidded to a stop at the closed front gate.

"Open it, Now!" she ordered harshly.

The guards exchanged startled looks and began to open the gate.

"When did he leave?" she cried.

"Uh…" One of them tried to answer.

"When?" She all but screamed at him.

"A-about four or five hours ago I guess, I'm not sure ma'am" He stuttered out. "East… He went East."

Oh God, he headed right towards the retreating Brotherhood, right on their heals. He had too much of a head start on her to catch him. Was he going to turn himself into the Brotherhood?

"Leave the gate open… I'm going soon." She ordered before turning on her heal and running for the Vault.

Her brain was a jumble of worse and worse case scenarios, she had to go after him. At least make an attempt to stop him. He was so damned noble, turning himself in was just the type of thing the Paladin would do. She paced like a caged tiger on the elevator as it descended into the vault, ducking out through the gate before it opened fully. She ran to her room and began strapping on her armour and belt and she jammed supplies into her pockets. She flung her shotgun over her shoulder and hoisted "The Last Thing' into her arms.

She came into the office to find everyone who had been in the Common room standing there. Word travelled around here way too fast, she thought.

"He wouldn't have turned himself in, would he?" She asked Haylen urgently.

She shrugged helplessly, "I don't know"

"Is there somewhere else he may have gone if not to the Prydwen?" She asked, buckling her armour into place "Somewhere he could have gone to think or … hide out, or something ?"

Haylen looked distressed as she searched her memory for something that could lend them hope that the hard-headed Paladin hadn't done the honourable thing. Her eyes brightened.

"Yes, back when we arrived in the Commonwealth he had me identify a fallback point if we ever lost the Police Station. We were the only two who knew about it, it was never logged. Listening Post Bravo."

Max nodded, "I know it."

It was to the east as well, there was still hope.

"I'm going to tail the Brotherhood, check if he went to them, then I going to the Listening post. I'll let you know when I find him. One way or another, I'm bringing him back."

* * *

Tracking the Brotherhood had been easy, they had only gone as far as Concord before being airlifted back to the Prydwen, the tarmac outside of Sanctuary being too narrow to accommodate more of the bulky vertibirds.

She had continued on to Drumlins Diner. No one onsite had seen Danse pass and it was the most logical route to Brotherhood territory. He may have gone off road so she continued on to Lexington. There was no trace of him, so she had bitten the bullet and turned North East towards the Listening Post. She fretted as she walked, wondering if she had made the right decision to abandon the path to the Brotherhood, but she had to believe that he wouldn't just abandon her.

She kept moving through the night, alternating between running and walking. She had a little trouble when she passed through an old cemetery. She recognised it as Wildwood, her mom was buried there. It had been crawling with Ferals and after a prolonged scuffle she jogged on. She didn't move as quickly as she had before. She was bruised and battered and had a deep tear in the flesh of her abdomen. It burned with radiation and even after the judicious use of Stimpaks, it tormented her as she ran.

Listening Post Bravo was not too far. She couldn't stop.

She had to skirt around a settlement that had been occupied by Supermutants, she gritted her teeth at the delay but it was mid morning when she finally made it to the Listening Post. She sat back from the entrance and used her rifle to eliminate the two turrets that defended it before cautiously edging forwards to look for any signs of Danse.

She tucked the rifle onto her back and drew her shotgun. She poked her head around the doorway leading to the interior. It was empty of life but there on the floor was the Protectron that should have been patrolling the area and it was charred with laser burns. He was here, he had to be.

The elevator had been activated and the lights of it flicked against the wall. She entered, depressed the down button and slung the shotgun onto her back with her rifle. It wasn't comfortable, but she didn't want him to spook. She wasn't sure about his state of mind. What must he be thinking, feeling? She tried to calm the rapid beat of her heart as the elevator dinged and the doors slowly parted.

She walked carefully out of the elevator not sure if there were automatic defenses online. There were none, so she stepped further into the chamber.

She found him in the next room, slumped against the wall, his head buried in his hands. He was in his Brotherhood jumpsuit and hood. His laser rifle lay on the other side of the room as if he had thrown it with force and a desk lay on its top, flipped over in burst of temper.

She hesitated by the entrance , her heart going out to him. Such a large man bought low.

"Danse?" She spoke softly, though he must have known that someone was there. The elevator had dinged. She went to him coming down to her knees by his side. Her hands went to the side of his head lifting it from his hands so she could look into his haunted eyes. He didn't resist.

"Did you know?" He asked his voice raw and stained.

She looked deep into his chocolate coloured eyes. "Yes." She said simply.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it doesn't matter… It makes no difference to me or anyone else that means anything. You're still you." She put her forehead to his, not wanting to see the agony in his eyes. "Because you are good and kind, and honourable and generous. Because you feel so deeply… Because if someone like you doesn't think he's human then there is absolutely no hope for a monster like me."

He pulled his head away from her searching for meaning in what she was saying.

"What do you mean a mons…?" He shook his head firmly "It doesn't matter! I'm a Synth and that means I need to be destroyed. Synths can't be trusted. Machines were never meant to make their own decisions, they need to be controlled. Technology that's run amok is what bought the entire world to its knees and humanity to the brink of extinction. I need to be the example not the exception." He wanted to die she thought, he was so brainwashed by the Brotherhood that he couldn't see past their doctrine. She needed to get him to see.

"The empathy that you're showing me, it's a human emotion. You are Human" She insisted. "You're flesh and blood, like Sturges and Curie."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do… but I've made my decision." Danse said miserably.

"What decision?" She asked

"I'm ready to accept the consequences of my true identity… to end my life... or cut short my programming or whatever it is, to stop being a Synth."

"Over my dead body, Richard." She grated. "You're Human Dammit! You can't tell me that a raider has more to offer humanity than you do. Did you hear a damned thing that I said to Sturges? If he can accept this and move on… to find love even, then you can too… You're stronger than this."

He looked at her sadly. But said nothing.

"Have you any comprehension of what you're death would do to the people who care about you?...Haylen?... Me?" She was becoming more agitated and angry. "You might not care about us, but we care about you. I consider you my friend… doesn't that mean anything?"

He looked less certain of himself. "But I'm a Machine."

She'd had enough… it was time for some home truths.

"There was this one time I was sent on assignment into China." She started telling part of her story. Her hands still on either side of his head, holding his eyes to hers "My mission was to take out a key member of the Chinese military, really high up in the chain of command and there weren't to be any witnesses. I figured the best way to achieve that was to be in his home. I staked the house out for days keeping track of his movements and one night I saw my opening and broke in. But you see, they didn't come home exactly when they were scheduled to so I waited in his kitchen; ate his food, read his magazines… I remember it was early evening when I finally heard the front door open. His wife came into the kitchen first and I put a slug in her face and left her on the floor and then I went out into the house to find my real target, he was in his library. I put two in his head. An easy op right? … and then I heard the crying. You see the reason they were late home is because they had picked up their kids early from their grandparents house. I went back into the kitchen and there were these two little kids, a girl, six and a boy, eight, kneeling over their mothers body on the kitchen floor, screaming as her blood leaked out of the hole that I had put in her head. I didn't even hesitate. I felt nothing as I raised my pistol and put a round in each of their heads too. Nothing, no guilt, no remorse, no regret, no mercy… nothing. No witnesses they said."

"That was just one mission… I went on _hundreds_ of missions… So Danse, which one of us is really the cold, calculating machine?" It was all said so clinically, so matter of factly that Danse was taken aback. He didn't know what to say to that.

"You might have been made in a lab to begin with but everything after that is all you. Your free will, your conscience, your feelings and emotions… your damned humanity. I don't have any of those things."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 – What a Difference a Day Makes**

Danse watched her from across the room. She had gone from his side and left him to ponder what she had said. She had effectively shocked him into sensibility. Had she really done those things? Were people in the pre war times really so brutal? They killed the world with their bombs, so maybe they were.

She had righted the desk and was now leaning against it with her hip. She had removed her jacket and hitched up her under shirt to reveal nasty looking gash in her side, it looked to be blistering with radiation and oozed the gloopy pus that usually came from a feral ghouls scratch or bite. She pulled a rag from her belt and cursed when she realised that she had no clean water to flush the wound.

He was up from his position against the wall in a moment and crossed the room with a tin from his own water supply in his hand.

"I left Sanctuary in a hurry." She grimaced, accepting the water from him. "Stupid of me to be so unprepared."

"It's not like you to forget basic supplies." He agreed diplomatically.

"I was worried about you, I wasn't thinking."

"Worry?" He cocked his head to the side and looked down at her as she dabbed at the laceration with water. "Isn't worry an emotion?"

She looked up at him stopping the motion of her hand. "Danse, do you think that the things that I have seen and done are not as bad, if not worse, than the stuff that you and Nate saw and did? How do you think I sleep so soundly at night when others…" She looked pointedly at him, "are racked with nightmares and laden with guilt?"

She left the question hanging there and started to tend her wound again. She was having trouble holding her undershirt out of the way and reaching the furthest reaches of the wide cut. Danse took the rag from her hand and began to tend her himself, his touch gentle and sure.

"What was this? A Reaver?" He asked as he poured more water into the rag.

"Glowing One." She grunted. She was getting tired of holding up her shirt and with a quick motion, pulled it up over her head and dumped it in the desktop next to her. Danse was a notorious prude when it came to any form of undress, but her arm was tired and after the run she'd just had, she was passed caring about his shyness.

He paused, his eyes flicking from the wound in her side to the curve of her breasts as they nestled inside her bra. She thought back to the many beautiful sets of underwear that she had owned before the bombs fell and was secretly a little pissed off that the one she had been wearing that day was this old, comfy, threadbare number with the light ketchup stain on the right cup. Danse didn't seem to mind the old bra, she saw his cheeks colour but this time he chose not to comment. He dragged his eyes away from her generous cleavage and concentrated on treating her.

"You know, everything you said before was a contradiction?" He said after discretely clearing his throat.

She raised her eyebrows and waiting for the clarification that she knew was coming.

"You said I was your friend and that you cared for me and a moment later called yourself a cold, calculating machine incapable of human emotions…" He glanced up at her, "Do you have Rad-away? This is going to keep festering unless you decontaminate it?"

She gave a brief smile and pointed at one of the pocket on her belt.

"I guess it did sound like a contradiction." She said. "I guess my condition is more like a switch I can turn on and off. You see, I told you I was reassigned to a new unit during the Anchorage Campaign? I was sent into special training." He nodded and injected the Rad-away into the infected area. "I have to say that the training broke me. I'm not ashamed to admit it. They destroyed me and then they set about building me into something else. Something that could blend into society as well as eliminate people without question." She looked sad and her eyes became unfocused as she remembered. "Nate never knew what I did. I worked right up until I found out I was pregnant. I was his wife and he never knew what I was. One minute I was assassinating foreign dignitaries, the next I was washing the dishes at home, Nates arms around me trying to coax me to dance with him to a song on the radio. Just a flick of the switch."

Danse nodded, he had seen it in her himself, the ability to suppress everything and maintain the façade of good humour. He covered the wound in her side and injected her with a stimpak, it would be fine in a few hours. He straightened and came up beside her leaning on the desk at her side as she examined the area.

"Can you tell me what happened at Sanctuary?" He asked. "I heard that the Brotherhood were there… among other things"

"Maxson showed up and demanded that I turn you over to him for execution." She advised him gently. "He wanted Haylen as well, but not for the same reasons. I told him 'no way, Jose."

"You should have handed me over." He said.

"I don't hand over my friends." She stated.

"You've put everyone at risk for me, Why would you do that?" He questioned. "Maxson will…"

"Maxson can eat a bag of dicks. I _DON'T_ hand over my friends" She interrupted.

Danse smiled weakly, "Interesting colloquialism, Local I take it?"

She grinned. "No, just old school, like me." She looked up into his eyes, "I'm not giving you up for anything."

She held his eyes for a long time. A long, long time. He found himself dropping down all of his defenses as he lost himself in those emerald depths. He found his breath hitching in his throat and his pulse quickening. She just gave a little smile and pushed herself away from the desk.

"You remember when I asked you if you'd be there to hold me if I needed it." She asked as she stooped to pick up her jacket. He nodded. "One day, all of those suppressed emotions might just bubble to the surface. I might need that hug…. Or my head might explode. Who can say?"

He smiled. "Either way, I'll be there… I just hope it's the former. Brain matter isn't pleasant to clean up."

She flashed a quick grin at his uncharacteristic quip and pulled on her undershirt & jacket.

They gathered their things and prepared to leave, it was getting late and she wanted to be out of the listening post, it was dreary and there were some disturbing entries logged on the working terminal. Greentop was not far away; they could resupply and recharge there before heading back to Sanctuary in the morning.

They entered the elevator and headed to the surface, Danse lay his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze of thanks. She put her hand on top of his and squeezed back, she was happy he was with her again.

When the elevator opened, the shelter was a flurry of dust and noise. Max pulled the Shotgun from her back and chambered some shells and Danse readied his Laser Rifle. There was a vertibird outside and that meant the Brotherhood were there as well. Had Max been so careless in her pursuit of Danse that she had not noticed that she was being followed? It was second nature to her, how had they found them?

She was ready for a fight and she would fight to the death if need be, to defend her friend.

She edged out of the elevator and along the wall to the door, Danse on her heals. She poked her head around to get a quick lay of the land, just to see how much trouble they were in. She saw the vertibird perched on the pad up the hill and standing alone in the gully was the Brotherhood Elder. She saw no one else.

She left the safety of the bunker and walked out into view.

"Arthur… well, you just keep popping up in the most unexpected places." She stepped forward, effectively putting her body in between the two men, blocking Danse from harm. Her shotgun was at the ready, cocked and levelled at the youthful leader.

He gave a dark frown. He was sizing her up, wondering if he could take her out and be left to deal with Danse alone and unimpeded. There was something in her eyes though, under the levity that gave him pause. She kept it hidden well, but he recognized the look of someone not to be trifled with.

"I knew it would only be a matter of time until I could get you alone again, away from the keen ears of our subordinates." Maxson said diplomatically. "I would like to make another deal with you."

She cocked her head to one side but said nothing so he continued on.

"I am willing to offer a full alliance between the Minutemen and the Brotherhood of Steel. Complete transparency, full access to each others resources."

"Forgive me for my scepticism…but I have it on good authority that if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is… what's the catch?

"Only what I asked for. I want the Synth known as M7-97 turned over to me."

"This is beginning to get boringly repetitive. I'm not going to hand over Danse. I can't believe that the memory of the Brotherhood is so short that they can't recall all of his years of loyal service."

"His?" Maxson spat, beginning to lose his cool once again. "Danse isn't a man, it's a machine, an automaton created by the institute. It wasn't born from the womb of a loving mother, it was grown within the cold confines of a laboratory. Flesh is Flesh. Machine is Machine. The two were never meant to intertwine. By attempting to play god, the institute has taken the sanctity of human life and corrupted it beyond measure."

"After all I've done for the Brotherhood, all the blood I've spilled in our name. How can you say that about me?" Max could hear the injury and defiance in Danses voice, he couldn't just stand there and keep his mouth shut while they debated his fate.

"You're the physical embodiment of what we hate most." Maxson was coming to full voice now, digging deep into the Brotherhood mantra "Technology that's gone too far. Look around you, Danse. Look at the scorched earth and the bones that litter the wasteland. Millions… perhaps even billions died because science outpaced mans restraint. They called it 'a new frontier' and 'pushing the envelope' completely disregarding the repercussions. Can't you see that the same thing is happening again? You're a single bomb in the arsenal of thousands preparing to lay waste to what's left of mankind" He looked back at Max. "And you. How can you trust the word of a machine that thinks that it's alive. A machine that's had its mind erased, it's thought programmed, it's very soul manufactured. Those ethics that its striving to champion aren't even its own. They were artificially inserted in an attempt to have it blend into society."

"From an organisation that's so dependent on technology, that all sounds awfully hypocritical. How's _your_ nuclear arsenal coming along, Arthur?" Max injected slyly into the conversation. Maxson glared at her.

"It's true. I was built within the confines of a laboratory and some of my memories aren't my own." Danse was getting just as impassioned as Maxson, Max just let her eyes dart between them like she was watching a tennis match. "But when I saw my brothers dying at my feet. I felt sorrow. When I defeated an enemy of the Brotherhood, I felt pride. And when I heard your speech about saving the Commonwealth, I felt hope. Don't you understand? I thought I was human, Arthur. From the moment I was taken in by the Brotherhood, I've done absolutely nothing to betray your trust."

"Accept for being a Synth." Maxson disagreed, "I do not intend to debate this any longer. Your entire service to the Brotherhood in null and void."

Danses expression hardened "Well, if it's null and void then I feel no compulsion to surrender to you. I'm not Brotherhood. I'm a free citizen." He tore the Holotags from his neck and tossed them at Maxsons feet.

"And as a free citizen of the Commonwealth, I hereby recruit you into the Commonwealth Minutemen… congratulations." Max gave a supportive smile to Danse.

"By Steel, You're an infuriating woman." Maxson grated "Allowing Danse to live undermines everything the Brotherhood stands for, yet you insist that he remains alive. You jeopardise the whole concept of an alliance between us." He sighed in defeat.

What she had said to him on the bridge had been right. The Brotherhood needed allies here. The two hundred strong force was not enough to take down the Institute and gain a permanent foothold in the Commonwealth. He stared at the two of them a long while, weighing his options. He finally nodded his head sharply in grim acceptance. He looked to Max.

"You will forgive the misdemeanours of Knight Rhys and take as compensation for the theft, this synth." He waved his hand dismissively towards Danse. "However, it won't be granted the same protection as the Gen 2.1 prototype that we discussed previously."

Maxson looked at Danse with a sneer on his face. "Danse as far as I'm concerned you're dead. You were pursued and slain and your remains were incinerated. From this day forward you are forbidden to set foot on the Prydwen. Or speak to anyone from the Brotherhood of Steel. Should you choose to ignore me, know that you will be fired upon immediately. Do we understand each other?"

"I understand. Thank you Arthur." Danse inclined his head .

"Don't mistake my mercy for acceptance. The only reason you're still alive is because of her." He turned to Max "I'm returning to the Prydwen, I expect to see you there as a show of the Minutemens new commitment to the Brotherhood of Steel. We still have the Institute to deal with."

"Of course Arthur." Max agreed courteously "I look forward to working with you... again"

Maxson nodded his head, turned sharply and strode back up the hill to the vertibird. He had lost this minor battle, but he would ultimately win the war. The woman had too kind a heart and she was gullible to the tricks played by the Institute. The synth would turn on her as synths did and she would either be killed or be forced to put to it down. The Brotherhood would eventually get what it wanted.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 – Getting to know you**

While Max and Danse had been gone, Sanctuary Hills had repelled an attack. Dozens of gen. two Synths had materialised right in the midst of the population, but they had been ready. Prestons increased defenses and the constant drilling came to fruition when the turrets sprang to life and the settlers drew arms as one. As part of the new daily ritual everyone dressed in armour and carried well maintained and fully loaded weapons.

The Institute seemed to have recovered from whatever Max had done to them and were now ready to go on the offensive. It worried more than one person as the threat of the Brotherhood was still hanging over them.

The Settlement was in the process of clean up when Max and Danse wandered across the bridge. The watch greeted Danse with handshakes and told Max excitedly what had happened. She looked past them and saw a row of tables had been set up outside the traders quadrant gathering reusable items; institute weapons, fusion cells and the like. The picked over carcasses of the robots had been gathered and dumped. She look on approvingly, she was rubbing off on them. Waste not, want not.

They walked further into the settlement and started up the hill to the vault when they ran into Preston coming the other way.

"Boy am I glad to see you, I've had word of a settlement that needs our …" Preston began.

Max held up her hand. "Don't finish that sentence." She warned, "Send RJ."

"RJ's out, he's gone to Goodneighbour and Cait was injured in the fight." He waved his arm around to encompass the flurry of activity inside Sanctuary.

"… and is there something wrong with your trigger finger?" She asked emphatically. "I'm tired Garvey, please let me get my breath."

There was squeal from up the hill and Sophie Haylen ran down to them, bundling a surprised Danse into a fierce and prolonged hug.

"I was so worried" She gasped. Her voice muted against his jumpsuit.

Danse had gone ridged under the attack of affection and looked to Max for help.

"Hey man, you're not with the Brotherhood now." She shrugged, "when we're happy to see someone, we let them know it."

Danse looked abashed and awkwardly patted Haylen on the shoulder until she finally let him go.

Preston watched with a smile before turning back to Max.

"It's Zimonja. They repelled an attack of their own and the relay tower was damaged. You know how to fix that stuff…"

Max made a frustrated growling sound "Fine…I'll go. But I'm eating first."

She pushed past Preston and stomped up the hill, leaving the other three of them staring after her.

* * *

"I think I need to give Preston a good thumping" She grated as she ducked back under the generator with a wrench in her hands. "I'm the _General_ for fucks sake… how come I'm always the one that has to get my hands dirty… shouldn't I be the one cushed up in an office, ordering everyone around?"

Max continued to grumble incoherently as she worked. The relay tower at Outpost Zimonja was fine, but the generator that ran it and the small group of shacks was toast and she was in the process of rebuilding it.

"Can I get that flathead, PD?" Her voice was muffled from under the bulky machine.

"There's two sizes, which do you want?" He asked and picked up both of the screwdrivers.

Her hand popped out from under the machine and waved about vaguely. "That one."

Danse sighed and hunkered down next to her holding both under the machine for her to see. She grabbed the one from his left hand and muttered some more about good help being hard to find.

It took about another ten minutes of intense cursing to get the thing running. Max had had a bit of a temper tantrum and had bashed it repeatedly with a ball peen hammer before it sputtered to life, the lights of the settlement flickering to life and the tower began to hum once more.

The head of the little community, a Minuteman by the name of Jonesy , clapped his hand on his knee from his perch nearby. "Well, would you look at that… let there be light... ha ha."

The guys down-home attitude was beginning to unwittingly grate on Maxs nerves.

The radio began to pump out the patriotic strains of Radio Freedom and that was about it for Maxs short fused temper… everything was irritating her today.

"Right, I want to get cleaned up and point me to my bunk for the night." She ordered crisply, wiping her oily hands on her ruined undershirt and looking around at the farmer-fred-looking leader, who had hitched his thumbs through the straps of his bib overalls and placed a blade of razorgrain between his teeth.

"Well ma'am, we don't have no spare beds to speak of but you and yours can shack up in my bunk for the evening, I'll go top 'n' tail with Luther." He hitched up his hat and scratched at his scalp of moment. "There ain't no hot water on account of the genny calling foul and it'll take a wee while for the tank to heat… but you can use one of the camp showers, I'll have it set up outside the shack for you... find you a new shirt too." He mused thoughtfully before brightening. "Good news is, we've had a Brahmin hanging for a spell and there'll be some pretty fine steaks on offer for supper."

Danse thanked Jonesy and was pointed towards the shack that they would be bedding down in. Max gathered up the bits of armour and clothing that she had haphazardly discarded as she made repairs to the generator and carried the bundle towards the building indicated. She eyed the shack warily as it seemed very small.

Danse opened the door and stopped in the doorway. Max peered over his shoulder and snorted.

"Well, isn't that cosy." Her voice dripping sarcasm.

The room was totally dominated by the large double bed with a large spotted brass bed head and foot board, it left only about a foot or so of space around it. There was an aged lowboy sitting hard up against the wall in the corner of the room, one would have to climb over the footboard in order to use that side of the bed. Max wondered how Jonesy managed to open the drawers in the unit, it was crammed in there so tight. If the door opened inwards instead of out, it wouldn't have been able to open fully.

Danse sidled into the room and edged along the side of the bed to the head. Max dumped her things on the end of the bed before clambering over the footboard and rolling clumsily off the side of the bed to stand up in the very limited space on the other side.

"What the actual fuck was he thinking, putting this massive bed in here?" Max pondered aloud. "How did he even get it in here?"

Danse lay down on his side of the bed and stretched out to his full height with a little room to spare. "I don't know… It's not too bad once you get over the logistics of it all."

Max glared down at him. She clambered back over the bed to the door. "Where's my god damned shower?" She shouted as she stomped out the door.

Danse smiled at the ceiling as he listened to her haranguing the good natured Minutemen in the settlement. He didn't fancy being in Prestons shoes when they returned to Sanctuary. She had been in a rotten mood since the moment that Preston had insisted that she attend to the relay tower herself. He chuckled as he heard Maxs voice raised again outside. She had apparently had enough of the 'Gomer Pyle Bullshit.' He had no idea what that meant but it sounded amusing.

It went quiet after that and he assumed that she must have finally gotten the shower set up and going. He just lay there patiently waiting his turn. He was looking forward to that steak and a good nights sleep. With Max beside him he always seemed to sleep peacefully now. With Max beside him he felt as if he could take on the world.

She appeared in the doorway of the shack. Her hair was damp and she looked scrubbed clean of the grime & grease that had coated her before she went out. She was dressed in an oversized white (ish) tee-shirt that fell to her bare upper thigh. He could tell that her skin had still been damp when she had pulled it on as it clung to certain parts of her… it's how he could tell that she wasn't wearing anything else. He averted his eyes and tried very hard not to look back at her.

"Your turn PD, I'm not sharing a bed with a stinky man." She was in a slightly better mood now that she was clean.

Danse hauled himself off the bed and edged along the shack wall towards the door. She was standing right in the doorway, leaning over the foot board to gather the belongings that she had dumped there earlier. Danse took a long steadying breath as his eyes fell on her bottom, the tee shirt hitching up towards dangerous heights as she leaned forward. He gulped.

She realised she was in the way of the door and stepped sideways to let him out but continued what she was doing. He edged passed her and out the door into the cool evening air. Maybe a cold shower _would_ be a good idea right now.

She was his friend, his best friend, and his commanding officer. He felt a little ashamed of himself, he owed her so much, more than he could ever repay and she didn't deserve to be the subject of such objectionable scrutiny and he had been scrutinising her in the same vain more and more often... ever since that day in Westons.

He stripped off and cleaned himself thoroughly in the clean cold water shower, it was quite invigorating. He stepped out of the camp shower and made a grab for the clean towel that had been left for him. The towel was there but he noted that his clothes were gone. He frowned as he dried himself. Was someone playing a trick?Well, he wasn't going to make a fuss, it would be what they, whoever it was, wanted.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and made a quick dash for the shack a few feet away. He tore the door open and ducked quickly inside, barreling right into Maxs back as she sorted through her supplies. She rocked forward over the foot of the bed with a whooshing sound and steadying herself with her hands on the mattress. She laughed and turned to face him as she righted herself and put her hands on his bare chest to halt his forward progression.

"Holy crap, this is tight quarters" She lilted.

They were standing so close, she had to look up into his face. Danse was suddenly frozen to the spot. She was so beautiful when she laughed and her hands were so hot on his chest.

He didn't even know he had moved until he felt his lips touch hers seemingly of their own volition. He pulled away immediately and guiltily looked down into her face, her eyes were wide with surprise and her lips parted. He cleared his throat awkwardly and went to sidle away from her but she wouldn't have any of it. Her hand moved quickly from his chest to his face and she drew him down to her again. Their lips met with such passion that Danse felt light headed, his hands snaked around her waist and pulled her hard against him. She made a muted growl deep in her throat and wrapped her other arm around his neck and buried her fingers in his damp hair.

The problem was,there was next to no room in the little shack and the bed was littered with all manner of mostly dangerous items. Danse ran his hands down over her butt and lifted her off floor and turned to deposited her on the top of the small lowboy against the wall. Max wrapped her legs around his hips like a vice and drew him in close. He fumbled with the hem of her tee-shirt and drew it off her in one quick movement, tossing it forcefully over his shoulder. She, in the meantime, loosened the ends of his towel and let it fall to the floor, all the while assaulting his tongue with hers.

When he entered her, pulling her hips to the edge of the dresser, she tore her mouth from his and groaned in ecstasy. Her eyes captured his and they gazed at each other, drinking in their shared expressions. They were both surprised by this turn of events but his face was full of wonder and shock, like he had no idea how this had happened at all. It was completely out of all realms of possibility to be in this position but there was no turning back now, there was nothing in this world nor any other, that could stop them now.

It was intense and furious and in the end, Danse leaned his forehead against hers breathing hard and bundling her as close to him as was possible. Max unwound her legs from his body and allowed herself to go limp in his arms. Her breathing as heavy as his. A kind of smug satisfaction etched on her features.

 **AN: And so I've gotten to the point in the story that I knew I'd have the most trouble with ... ahem. Not totally happy with it to be fair but I didn't want to go into too much detail. It happened... move on. I'd love some reviews, not necessarily about this chapter but just generally... Cheers**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I'm departing a bit from the storyline of the game, but it needed to happen otherwise what was the point of writing this... I could have just been playing the game. But like I said... a few times now... I have no plan, I just write what's in my head at the time. Please review. Thanks Tuckerdoo for you review of the last chapter... it made me laugh.**

 **Chapter 21- The Great Green Jewel**

Preston met them at Sanctuarys gate.

He took up step beside Max and Danse as they headed up the hill to the Vault.

"How'd it go? Tower up and running?" Preston asked as they walked, noting Maxs buoyant mood.

"It went splendidly." Max sang expansively. "I have a few splinters in my arse that Curie will need to look at, but other than that, it went fan-fucking-tastically."

"Ah… ok…? Do I need to know how you got the splinters?" He asked looking very confused.

Max drew breath to answer but Danse cut her off, his cheeks colouring. "No. You don't"

Max sniggered suspiciously but didn't elaborate.

"You know, I never did get that steak." She reflected happily as she walked onto the elevator platform and turned to face them. "What food's on offer, Preston.?"

"You're in luck," Preston supplied. "The team down in Murkwater managed to finally take down that Mirelurk Queen. They sent us a good portion of the meat in the last consignment. The old lady was quite big and they had a heap to spare and didn't want it to spoil."

"Mmmmm, Queen meat. Sounds glorious." She was acting weird, Preston looked hard at her. What had happened while they had been out? He looked at Danse as well. He was staring at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen, the colour in his face darkening to that of a tato.

"I'm going to see Curie and then eat and then I'm gonna head over to the airport to have a little tet-a-tet with Arthur." She hopped off the elevator platform and sauntered towards the infirmary.

"I have to go…" Danse strode off down the other corridor towards the office.

Preston looked after both of them with a confused look on his face. A slow look of comprehension spread over his face and he grinned widely. Danse was definitely going to have his work cut out for him if he planned on keeping up with her. A small part of Preston was a little disappointed that she hadn't looked to him for that kind of companionship, they would be good for each other he supposed. He shrugged his shoulders and walked after Danse towards the office.

* * *

Max lay face down on the gurney as Curie tweezed out the final splinter from her butt. Curie had not asked how the splinters had come to be there and Max was not forthcoming. She smiled to herself remembering how the slithers of aged wood had ended up in her… end. That Lowboy, Danse dragging her to the edge and what had happened next. And later that night when they had finally gathered themselves after the initial shock and turned in for the night. Max had run her hand down Danses broad back as they lay next to each other in the big bed. He had rolled towards her and they had engaged in round two.

They had not talked about the 'incident' since. Max supposed that they needed to work on their communication skills as it was certainly something that she would like to explore further. Danse needed time to wrap his head around what had happened between them. It took him much more time than her to process things.

Max thanked Curie for her diligent care and made her way to the common area and grabbed a plate of food. Codsworth was on duty in the mess and he made sure that Max got the choicest cut of meat. She had grinned at him and asked him how everything had been going for him. They chatted companionably for a while before Preston entered the room and looked around. He hurried up to her when he picked her out of the crowd in the mess.

"We're needed at the gate… we have visitors."

Max was on her feet and walking in an instant. "Who is it? Not the Brotherhood again?"

"No." Preston shook his head looking worried. "The watch said that they looked like city folk, maybe a dozen or so of them."

Max looked at him questioningly.

As they reached the elevator they were joined by other members of the 'senior staff' of the Minutemen and Danse. They broke the surface and all hurried down the hill to the gate and the group of bewildered people gathered just inside of it. Max was surprised to recognised Nick Valentine as one of the group and rushed to his side. If anyone could explain this, it would be him.

"Max," He started, relief evident in his voice. "We're glad to finally make it here, we never thought we'd get here in one piece and we weren't sure you'd be here when we did."

"Nicky, what's going on? What happened?"

"The Brotherhood of Steel have taken over Diamond City." Nick explained regretfully. "We're the refugees."

"I want the full story, but we'll see to your people first." Max was in her element now and the general part of her took over. "Curie & Haylen; I want a mobile infirmary set up over there. Danse, Cait, Sturges; I want a debrief table set up. I want to know who everyone here is and their versions of what happened. Preston; I want the rest of Sanctuary and our other settlements put on alert. Codsworth, Marcie, Jun; They're gonna need food and drink in them and bunks, they'll be tired and will need somewhere to crash and I don't want them to do it on the ground. Preston, sorry man, but can you also get in touch with Hancock as well, let him know what's happened. Goodneighbour might be next. Assemble whatever teams you need to get this stuff done as fast and efficiently as possible. Move Everyone!" Everyone scrambled to carry out her orders. She watched briefly as her team shouted to other settlers to get everything in order.

She turned back to Nick who was looking at her with wide eyes.

"I've underestimated you, kid. You have more gumption than I credited you with." Nick said with admiration.

She gave a quick smile but was all business. "Are you OK to talk now or do you need something first. Are you good?" She looked closely as his ramshackle synth face with concern.

"I'm fine, kid. But let's find a seat, these old pistons need to rest a bit."

Max led Nick over to the picnic table outside the visitor accommodation and once he was comfortably seated with a freshly lit cigarette in his hand she looked to him to explain his sudden appearance in Sanctuary Hills

"They landed inside the city in one of their flying machines, a young fella, looked to be the boss got out and addressed the city. Saying that old MacDonagh was a synth and that the city had had the wool pulled over their eyes. The town welcomed them with open arms, started turning over family members and the like. Taka was beaten into spare parts." Nick took a long unsteady drag from his smoke and looked at her with a wounded expression, his yellow irises wide. "Max, it was like they all went insane. It all happened so quickly. I would be done for if it hadn't been for Ellie. Me and the folks with us manged to slip out, but there were casualties other than MacDonagh, who was executed right quick and Taka... They ate at his stall every day dammit, they way turned on him was bestial." Nick took another drag of his cigarette before he continued. "Sheng Kowolski refused to turn over the purifier, drew a weapon and all. But he was just a kid, dammit he didn't deserve to die. Vadim got into a scuffle with them as well, but it was his brother who bore the brunt of it. Yefim died of his injuries on the way here, Vadim is inconsolable. There are 14 of us, that's it out of the whole damned city."

Nick shook his head sadly and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table.

Max thought for a moment and the more she thought the more it made sense. Diamond City was ripe for the taking. They already had a hatred of Ghouls as demonstrated by the great expulsion of their kind back in eighty two. They feared supermutants. Preston had told her that the Minutemen came to prominence back in the day when the defended the city against a supermutant horde. And Synths, well, the fear of them had been drilled into them by that 'newspaper' that circulated everywhere. Max had found that the people as a collective were small and acted under a sheep mentality. There were always exceptions of course and they all seemed to be here now.

Max looked over at the refugees as they moved through the welcoming committee of Sanctuarys finest. She picked out the faces of the few people that she knew. Moe Cronin, the Swatter seller, he had one of his wares resting against his shoulder as Curie tended to some minor bruises on his face.

"So I says to him 'this is what a swatter feels like, motherfucker' and Wham! He goes down… true fact!" Moe was saying.

Curie nodded as she worked. "That's so brave of you, Monsieur."

Not far away, Haylen was seeing to Danny Sullivan the Diamond City Guard. Doc Sun had shaken off his fatigue from the long road and joined in working in the makeshift infirmary, he was tending to Arturo Rodriguez the Diamond City Arms dealer. He had been fighting primarily to protect his stock, which the Brotherhood meant to confiscate and ultimately had.

Sitting in front of Danse was a man she didn't recognise. Nick advised her that it was Pastor Clements, the man who had married Mr Zwicky, the School teacher and Miss Edna, the Miss Nanny Robot. In front of Cait, was Travis 'lonely' Miles the Radio DJ and sitting with Sturges was Ellie Perkins, Nicks assistant. Off to the side waiting their turn were Zwicky & Edna, Sheffield, Vadim Bobrov and a woman and child that she also didn't recognise.

Nick pointed towards the latter two. "You might want to have word to Piper, she normally has her ear to the ground. The girl is Nat, her little sister."

Marcie Long trotted over and signalled that she needed a word. Max nodded and excused herself from Nick

"We're short one bed." Marcie fretted "We've freed up four in the vault and there are eight beds free in the visitors house with Haylen choosing to bunk with Sturges. The Handy, Edna, doesn't need a bed. So we need thirteen beds and we have twelve. Can we ask that the lady and her sister share?"

"The visitors house sleeps nine." Max insisted.

"Yes, but Danse has one of those." Marcie pointed out.

"I'll move Danse. Give the whole house over to the male refugees. Put Nat, Piper, Ellie and Zwicky and his Mrs of course, in the Vault" Marcie nodded and moved away to billet the refugees once that had been treated and debriefed. They could rest for a while, clean up and then have a good hot meal. After a good nights sleep they could decide what to do next.

Max ran a weary hand over her eyes. She had not predicted that the Brotherhood would do something like this… but she should have. She looked over at Preston, who was sitting at the gates ham radio. She walked to him and listened as he finished up his call to the castle.

"Should we target that airship?" Ronnie Shaws voice came through the radio. "It's far, but it should just be in range of the heavy artillery."

"Not at this stage Ronnie, but it's good to keep it in mind. Just watch yourself, that's all I'm asking."

Ronnie signed off and the radio went dead.

"You know what?… My day started out so well." Max mused. She shook her head and looked down at Preston. "Did we know about MacDonagh being a Synth?"

Preston nodded. "Yeah we did, but there are so many deployed throughout the Commonwealth we were, probably foolishly, working through the ones in the Minuteman ranks first."

"Maxson wanted a foothold in the Commonwealth… now he's got the largest city at his back." Max grated. "I think I need to go and have a private word with that young man…"

She looked back at the people working on getting the guest settled into Sanctuary. She looked at Danse sitting and talking to Sheffield. He was leaning forward and listening intently to what the Nuka Cola fiend was saying and jotting it down on a battered clipboard, his brow furrowed in that familiar, silly frown. She gave a quick smile and turned away, she would talk to him later, their suddenly intimate situation could wait. She turned instead to the woman that Nick had identified as Piper.

"We haven't met yet." Max introduced herself as she reached the young brunette woman who was sitting on a bench with her arm around a smaller facsimile of herself, her little sister Nat.

"Yeah, hey listen Blue, can I get a little water for my sister?" Piper said looking up from her perch.

"Of course." Max motioned Jun Long over, he had just arrived with a crate of purified water tins. "Blue?" She asked Piper with a raised eyebrow.

"You're from a vault right… I heard you were from a vault." Piper responded. "I know you're not wearing the suit now but…"

"Hmmmm… well, my name is Max" Max said pointedly. "Nick said that I should talk to you… that you had your ear to the ground…"

"I sure do, Blue." Piper replied. "I'm a journalist… You heard of Publick Occurrences? It's my paper."

Max nodded. "So you wrote the story implying that the Mayor was a synth? How did you find that out?"

"I didn't _say_ he was a synth… I was hypothesising." Piper coolly dismissed the question. Her face taking on the holier-than-thou look of someone who thought they were infallible.

"You were scare-mongering. You wrote an inflammatory story based on no facts to sell papers… that's not journalism, that's the tabloids." Max snorted.

Piper straightened in her chair. "He was a synth. He had pulled the wool over the citys eyes, like the Brotherhood said." Piper defended. "But he didn't deserve to die. That's not what I wanted to happen. I just wanted to report the truth, to get people thinking and looking past their own front doors and take an interest in what was going on about them. I'm not the bad guy, Blue."

"Listen, Piper was it?" The brunette nodded. "Piper, you don't know me so I will forgive the little slips. But for future reference, I don't like to be called names that aren't my own. If you insist on calling me 'Blue', I will be forced to smash your face through the back of your head… comprende?"

The woman, Piper, suddenly looked less sure of herself and some of the puff went out of her sails. She nodded again after a small pause "Yes Ma'am."

"Good girl," Max grinned and clapped her on the shoulder, "We're gonna be best friends, I can tell."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 – A Nice Chat and a Cuppa**

Elder Arthur Maxson stood in his customary spot on the Command Deck of the Prydwen. He stood with his back straight, legs planted and his hands clasped firmly in the small of his back. He gazed out into the setting sun, watching the shadows lengthen on the Commonwealth and the evening swamp the land in darkness.

In darkness. That was where most of the commonwealth was in regards to the Institute and its nefarious plots and schemes. It was one of the goals of the Brotherhood of Steel to educate the people, to get them on side, to bring them into the light so to speak.

The Occupation of Diamond City had gone as he had expected. Once the people had seen the righteous truth that the Brotherhood had to spread, their enlightenment had given the Brotherhood a true foothold, a real chance of success in the hostile wasteland. Their false mayor was no more and the resources that the city held were the Brotherhoods for the taking. They were getting the people behind them and it was done with minimal fuss. It was almost handed to them on a silver platter.

He would not be overconfident, he must not become over inflated with pride at one small success, instead he must calmly plan the next.

Maxson watched the Commonwealth until he could see it no more. In the dark he could see dimly lighted areas; settlements, raiders camps and the like. He could also see flashes of combat as the city below the Prydwen battled with itself in the continuous lawlessness that the Brotherhood would eventually tame. He would have this city under control, like he had done with the Capital.

He eventually tore his eyes from the wasteland that needed him so badly. Tomorrow the Brotherhood would go into the fray again but in order to do that he needed to be rested and focused. He retired from the Command deck and sought his quarters.

He climbed down the ladder to the Main Deck and opened the door to his berth.

"My, My, Arthur, haven't we been busy."

Maxson froze in the doorway and looked urgently around his quarters for the source of the smooth, sexy voice. She was reclining in his easy chair on the far side of the small table that held his chess set. Her arms resting gracefully on the padded arms and her long leather encased legs crossed at the knee. She looked at ease and her expression was benign.

How had she gotten into his quarters? How had she even gotten onto the Prydwen? … Unseen? Was he dreaming? Was this one of his fantasies come true? The most beautiful, powerful woman he had ever laid eyes upon was here in his personal space. Should he call for the guards?

She watched him with those dramatic green eyes, her lips hitched on one side in a crooked little smile. She had no weapons in sight. She was just sitting and watching him, waiting for him to react to her unexpected presence.

He stepped fully into the room and eased the door closed behind him, masking his expression of surprise with one of wary welcome.

"Max... so nice to see you. I thought you would have been here much sooner." He walked to the cabinet against the wall and withdrew two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I don't drink spirits, thank you, but a cup of coffee would be nice." She brushed at an invisible speck on the sleeve of her jacket and looked back up to him with a smile. His lips gave a small twitch upwards as he remembered her words to Danse when she had realised that the Brotherhood had access to coffee; _'…If you can produce a viable cup of coffee right now, I will strip you naked and do you right here on the floor…'_ He wondered briefly if the deal would be the same for him.

He poured himself a healthy measure of the whiskey and then went to his door and called to a squire loitering outside.

"Your drink will be here in a moment." Maxson advised warmly as he took the seat across from her.

She inclined her head in thanks and then raised her eyes to his again.

"I would have been here sooner but I've had a few things to attend to. Two of our settlements were attacked by Institute Synths. You might like to bolster your own defences." She supplied conversationally.

"I will attend to it, thank you for the warning." He leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his whiskey. It burned its way down his throat and warmed him from the inside out, calming his slightly elevated heartbeat.

She stared into his eyes for a long time without saying a word, it was very intimate and he began to feel uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny. This was a different woman than the one who was bought before him for the first time on the command deck. That one had been upbeat, forthcoming and a little silly. This woman was dark, dangerous and intense, even with a small smile on her beautiful face. He looked back at her, keeping his countenance calm and relaxed, to show any kind of uncertainty would be disastrous.

A polite knock at the door broke the tension in the room. Maxson placed his glass on the chess board and rose from his seat to accept the cup of hot coffee from the young squire. He bought it over to his guest and placed it in her open palm. He noticed the 10mm pistol in its holster at her hip. The holster was tabbed closed, but it was there and it wouldn't take much time for her to draw on him.

He collected his glass and resumed his seat opposite her. He watched her take her first sip of coffee and saw her eyelids flutter closed as she appreciated the first taste and a contented, inaudible sigh escaped her lips.

She opened her eyes and beamed at him. "You have no idea how heavenly this is for me. Coffee was my vice of choice back in the day."

He smiled in return and she was surprised by the way the expression changed his face. His eyes sparkled in the brightest azure and she realised for the first time that he was a handsome wee devil.

He took another sip of his drink and set it down again, leaning forward ready to get down to business. She took the cue and set down her cup as well. She leaned back into the chair and steepled her fingers in front of her, looking thoughtful.

"Right then, the first official meeting of the Minutebrothermenhood alliance is about to resume. First order of business. Diamond City." Max said.

"What about Diamond City?" Maxson inquired politely.

"Well, you almost destroyed our alliance right then and there and I thought that I would just clarify your decision to not communicate your intentions."

"How did I almost destroy our alliance? The Minutemen have no interests in Diamond City?"

"When refugees show up at my gates, I'm interested." Max replied. "Especially when one of those at risk is the very gen 2.1 synth that we agreed was to remain intact... Your boys killed a child, Arthur, and a local businessman. What do you need the City for? You have base of operations here and you have the Cambridge Police Station."

Arthur nodded at each of her concerns. "The childs death was regrettable. The boy drew a weapon on one of my scribes who was forced to defend himself." Maxson explained sincerely. "We tried to save the boys life, I swear. The city is a hub for trade and resources. It's highly defendable and the citizenry welcomed us peacefully. We did not know that your synth was there or that you had any use for the city at all. I apologise for the lack of communication but we need resources if we are to stay and fight with you against the Institute for any length of time." It was very diplomatic and formal.

"The word 'Peacefully' is up for debate there." She grimaced. "I've had some very contradictory accounts from those who showed up at my settlements. I understand how occupations work. The men who ran the weapons stores in the city claim that you requisitioned their stock with no word of compensation. I found that the DC Guards were stood down. I know that the first thing an occupying force does is disarm the citizens so they will have less resistance later on."

Maxson nodded again "I have the safety of the Brotherhood to think of. There are always rabble rousers to contend with. What would you have me do to placate you in this matter, other than our withdrawal from the city?'

"I'm not going to ask you to give up the city. It would do them and those who were displaced no real good now. The actions of the people themselves is what made this what it became. But I will ask for fair recompense for those who were displaced. But we can discuss that at a later date."

Maxson agreed and they moved on to the next item on the agenda.

Max grew very serious and sat up in her chair, catching and keeping Maxsons gaze. "I'd like to discuss the attempted extortion of Minutemen settlements."

Maxsons eyes went wide in surprise before he masked his expression again, this time in idle curiosity. So he didn't know about that? Max surmised. That's interesting.

"Before the Prydwen arrived in the Commonwealth, you know that Gladius was in pretty bad shape. With Danse, I took on a job for Greygarden in exchange for regular fresh produce to be shipped to the Cambridge Police Station. I negotiated for six months supplies for three soldiers. When reinforcements arrived, I didn't bother to advise Greygarden that the supplies were not needed any more so the supplies kept coming. Now, a while ago one of your Proctors, Teagan I believe, had the provisioner tailed back to Greygarden and tried to get them to turn over all of their supplies to the Brotherhood. My people were threatened and that's just not sporting."

"Now, I get that the Brotherhood will need supplies for an extended campaign. But there are ways to go about it and there are ways that you don't. I bled for those supplies…. Literally." She was going to add that Danse almost died for them but it probably wouldn't have made a dent. "I expect that future negotiations with my settlements will be done in caps, supplies or services rendered. If I hear of more raider-like tactics, I will respond in the same way as I do with any other raider… down the barrel of a gun."

Maxson looked troubled. "I will talk to my Quartermaster. This will not happen again. You have my word."

"Thank you Arthur." She flashed her winningest smile at him and noted the small flutter of his pulse rate raising. "Those were the two things I wanted to get off my chest. Do you have anything for me?"

Maxson stood and walked to his liquor cabinet again to refill his glass and then returned to his seat. "The Brotherhood of Steel has not behaved as honourably as I would have liked. The Minutemen, on the other hand have been the soul of civility. I commend you." He raised his glass to her before taking a quick drink.

Max smiled and accepted the toast with a girlish blush. When he was like this, Maxson was OK.

It was time to get down to the reason for the alliance to begin with. Max tossed up on what she should share with him and what she shouldn't. She decided to go with one of the biggest bombshells.

"I can get in and out of the Institute at will." She said casually. She lifted her coffee cup to her lips and drained the last of the beverage, not meeting Maxsons eyes for a moment. When she looked back into his eyes, they were wide with surprise.

"In the last message I sent to you before the whole 'you guys stealing our stuff' fracas, I told you that I had a way in."

Maxson nodded. "You didn't elaborate but Danses logs told some of the story. Escaped Institute scientists, Transporter machines and the like."

Max filled in some of the gaps in the story, emitting some of the information but telling him that it was to protect certain people that the Brotherhood would not approve of and told him of her trip into the Institute "I met a Dr Madison Li, You might know her from her work on Project Purity in the Capital?"

"We saw her name in the Data Bank. She's been tagged for contact." Maxson sat forward.

"I was actually well ahead of you. I had a chat with her and she may be willing to leave the Institute. She's not exactly one of the Brotherhoods biggest fans… but I could persuade her to work with you ... or the Minutemen. Did you have a particular Project in mind for her?" Max said it in a offhand a manner as she could, she wanted to see if Maxson would be forthcoming with his plans.

Maxson thought about it, she could see him debating with himself what he should share with her and what he shouldn't. Max wanted this to work.

Maxson seemed to come to a decision and looked up at her. "We would like her to work on Liberty Prime. Prime was instrumental in the destruction of the Enclave and I believe it will tip the odds well into our favour if Prime was back in our arsenal."

Honesty. Max was happy with that. "While we still have the relay at Sanctuary, it is slightly unstable and quite unpleasant to use. When I was in the Institute though, Li put a chip into my pipboy that allows me to use the Institutes own relay from anywhere in the Commonwealth. I haven't used it yet and am hesitant to for the moment as I caused a bit of a kerfuffle the last time I was there and I don't think I will go unnoticed. I can go in to get Li though, if needs be."

"It will be dangerous." Maxson frowned.

"Danger! Ha! Danger is my middle name." She gave a little chuckle.

Maxsons eyes went a little wide… "Is it really?"

Max laughed outright. She sometimes forgot that the sayings from her own time went right over the heads of the folks in the Wasteland. She loved to see their looks of confusion. The effect of her mirth was devastating on Arthur Maxson. His breath hitched in his throat and his heart beat quickened. Her laugh was like music. Her eyes sparkled like gemstones and the whole dim room lit up with her beauty. She didn't notice his reaction to her, she was busy collecting herself.

"I'll get your scientist for you, Arthur." Max said gleefully. "Right now though, how about you get us a something to eat and we can move onto the next item on the agenda."


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Hey now kids. So I am taking a little longer between chapters now. sorry. This is a bit of a filler chapter... just seeing if it works. remember if you like it review it. if you don't like it review it too. I can change directions if it's not suiting...**

 **Chapter 23 – It's Just a Little Crush**

They had sat and talked together throughout the night. The blush of the Commonwealth morning and the firm knock on his door from Lancer Captain Kells bought them out of their reverie. Maxson answered the door and Kells stepped through the doorway into the room… starting in disbelief at the woman sitting calmly across the room. He had handed the sheaf of reports to Maxson and eyed the lady suspiciously. She got up from the chair and crossed to the door.

"Looks like we lost track of the time." She mused to Maxson, ignoring the Lancer Captain. "We covered a lot of ground though and I think we got a good handle on what needs to be done now. Thank you for your time Elder, I'll let you get back to your duties"

She extended her hand to Maxson to shake. He looked down at her hand and then back up at her face confused.

"Shake my hand, Arthur. It's an old and silly tradition but one I think should be revived." She grinned.

He reached out his hand and took hers. She gripped firmly and gave it a small shake but didn't let go right away. Her palms had tough callouses from hard work but they were unrealistically soft and warm.

"Can I trouble you for a lift to the ground?" She asked, holding his eyes captive with hers.

"Of course. Kells, can you make a vertibird and Lancer available to the General?… Are you sure you wouldn't like to be taken right back to Sanctuary?" He offered her without looking at his crewman.

"No, thank you, Arthur. I would prefer to walk. I have some errands to run anyways." She replied warmly. She stepped forwards and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before letting go of his hand and turning to go.

"Thanks again, Arthur… it's been a trip." She crossed to the ladder leading out and with one more look back at him, disappeared from view.

Kells watched her go. Where had she come from to begin with? He didn't recall any visitors arriving on the Prydwen and no reports had been logged to that effect. Either someone had been lax in their duties or the lady had somehow managed to get aboard without being noticed… that was highly unlikely. The Elder didn't seem concerned though.

"Lancer Captain… the pilot for the General?" Maxson insisted before opening the door wider for Kells to leave. Kells stepped back into the corridor and the door was shut firmly behind him.

Elder Arthur Maxson held his hand to his cheek. She had kissed him. He felt the lingering tingle of her lips even now. And his hand. The feeling of her touch seemed to radiate heat, even long after she had let it go. Her fragrance seemed to linger in his quarters. A mix of leather and gunpowder combined with carrot flower and something much darker and stirring.

Maxson closed his eyes for a moment. He must be feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. He tried to push the improper thoughts of her to the back of his mind and set himself to facing the day. His eyes fell on the empty coffee cup on his chess board…

* * *

Once you got past the elevated sense of superiority and the intolerable bigotry, Arthur Maxson was really a sweet kid, Max mused as she walked towards along the waterfront. She had in it her mind that she should stop in at Goodneighbour while she was in the area. She wanted to check up on Hancock and MacCready and let them know that the Brotherhood had agreed as part of their treaty that Goodneighbour along with Bunker Hill were not to going to be targeted for occupation. She also hadn't seen either of those scoundrels in a while and she wanted to make sure that they were OK and keeping out of trouble.

She walked north out of the airport. Goodneighbour was a straight shot across the bay from here but it took much longer to walk. She'd have to go well north to the closest bridge and then come all the way back south.

It didn't take her too long to realise that she was being followed. She had just collected her weapons when felt a prickle along her spine and the little hairs raised on her arms. She had spent most of her life on high alert so the feeling was not unfamiliar to her. She pulled at the shoulder strap of her shotgun and nonchalantly rested her hand on her 10mm at her hip, flicking open the tab. She had planned on walking around the Bay, she wondered now if she would be better off downing a heap of Rad-x and diving into it, making a beeline for Goodneighbour.

She didn't relish the though of having to dump her weapons and going into the city unarmed though. She would have to either lose her tail or confront them and she was of a mind to have chat with whomever it was.

She kept her walk casual waiting for her chance and she saw her opportunity to get the drop on her stalker when she came upon a collection of old vehicles abandoned in the road.

* * *

He had seen her as she alighted from the vertibird, looking for all the world like she owned the place. She sauntered out of the airport paying no attention to the brave Brotherhood soldiers surrounding her as if she were out for a Sunday stroll. It was insulting to every one of them, how dismissive she was.

He took it upon himself to see what she was up to and he took up step behind her. He kept his distance, waiting in the long morning shadows and moving quickly from covered position to covered position. She stopped not far from the Airport and collected a stash of weapons; that evil looking rifle and shotgun that she customarily had on her, from the interior of an old car before continuing on along the waterfront.

She was up to something… she was always up to something. She had to be.

He lost sight of her for a moment when she wove her way around an assortment of vehicles; a bus, some cars and a van, but he reached the spot quickly and ducked in behind the bus, sneaking a quick look through the broken windows. He'd lost sight of her but once he was passed the bus, he would be able to pick up her trail again.

He halted on the spot when he felt the cold steel cylinder of a gun barrel pressed against the base of his skull.

He gritted his teeth in suppressed fury."I knew you were the sneakiest type of scum there was."

"You do, of course, realise the irony of that statement, right?" Max whispered in his ear as she took his side arm from its holster and tossed it over arm into the bay. "Knight Grumpypants, why in the world are you following me?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on you… you have everyone else fooled but I can see you for what you really are… There's something about you that's off. I can see the death in your eyes, it's hidden under that beauty… but that's just the surface. I can see what's under that pretty face and it's more monstrous than anything that the wasteland has to offer."

"And you can see past my 'beauty' because it's not the type that you're interested in… right?" Max covered her shock at his words with a chortle. He could see her. He saw what she was from the very beginning.

"You know, I didn't take Danse from you. He was never yours." She said it spitefully, goading him.

Rhys jolted in anger. He rounded on her in a rage forgetting the gun until he found himself staring down the business end of it.

Ha. She had been right!

"I see everything, Rhys." Max said slyly. "It's one of my gifts. I see everything."

She took a slow step back from him, just out of reach but kept her 10mm levelled at his face.

"I get it," She said conversationally. "Who hasn't had a thing for a senior officer?… Hell, I married one. It has to do with all that sexy confidence, I think… the attitude." She mused half to herself. "Doesn't hurt if he's very easy on the eyes too."

Rhys' face had coloured, either from embarrassment or rage… she didn't know, didn't care. He was becoming a real pain in her arse.

"It must have really frosted your wiener to find out he was a synth, huh? What a kick in the nuts. I bet you saw it as some kind of personal betrayal." OK, that was petty and mean, she thought to herself and she apologised. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. Look, I don't have anything against you… I'm trying to work with the Brotherhood. All I want is a safe Commonwealth… that's it."

Rhys glared at her down the barrel of the gun. Max sighed and lower her gun completely.

"What will it take?" She asked wearily.

"There's nothing that you can do to fix anything that's happened since you came along. It would have been better for us all if you had never shown up… should've let the ferals kill us all." Rhys really hated her. For taking his team away, for associating with the most vile of creatures and for taking his paramour away in more ways than one. No one would have known that Danse was a Synth if it weren't for her. Danse wouldn't have spent hours watching her with the intensity that should have been reserved for someone more deserving.

"I can't take it back…" She said softly, feeling a little sorry for the Brotherhood knight.

All the while Haylen had been pining for Rhys, Rhys had been pining for Danse … and Danse had been pining for who?…her?…whatever? Haylen had moved on, Danse was oblivious… to everything. And Rhys was alone.

"I'm sorry, Rhys." She said. "I don't know what I can do... but I'm not about to stop everything because you have a broken heart. I can't."

"I don't have a broken heart." Rhys spat angrily. "He was a traitor, a synth. I only wish I'd been there when the Elder had pulled the trigger on it. And Haylen is a synth sympathiser. She deserves to be executed too."

"Wow... Ouch" Max grimaced. "So, this has been fun and all… but I'm going to continue on with what I was doing and you can head back to the airport. We're not going to settle anything right now, anyway."

"That's it… you're just going to let me go." Rhys was still dark, but surprised.

"Yeah…" Max shrugged. "You can't follow me for much longer before you've abandoned your post and are deemed AWOL. I'm not about to shoot you for following me… or not liking me. You can't shoot me in the back unless you wanna go swimming for your gun first…. We can have a fist fight if you like?... No?"

The look Rhys gave her was incredulous and tinged with distrust. He didn't think she would let him walk away. He thought that as soon as he turned his back on her, she would shoot him in it. He could feel hatred boil up from inside of him. How dare she, how dare she see what he had kept hidden. It was like she was taking everything away from him again. She had left him desolate and now she was humiliating him. He couldn't let her get away with it.

But he was also out in the open and now unarmed. She would not have offered to fight him if she thought he had any chance of beating her… sure, he might get in a few good hits but she was a wiley one and probably had an ace up her sleeve in one way or another. He paused for a moment and then he did the only thing he could think to do. He turned on his heal and walked away. He didn't rush or show weakness. He just walked away… back to his brothers and sisters at the airport. She would keep. He'd just wait for the right opportunity.

She watched him go and shook her head sadly. She knew this wasn't the end. She had Rhys at a disadvantage now but he would come at her again… soon and hard.

She was actually very glad he hadn't said yes to a fight… she was well out of practice and actually doubted that she could have held her own against him let alone win. She remembered grappling with Danse as he was rocked with night terrors and how draining it had been just to hang on. Nah… Rhys would have kicked her arse.

She watched until he was out of view before turning and walking quickly on… maybe stopping at Goodneighbour wasn't good idea. Maybe she should just head straight for Sanctuary in double time.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 – Successful Negotiations**

Max jogged into Sanctuary that evening.

She was tired. She had not slept in a while. Having snuck aboard the Prydwen, talked with Maxson all night and then hiking back here… she was more than tired… she was exhausted. She wanted to just fall into a hole and sleep for about a week.

She kept up the pace until she made it to the elevator down to the vault. Then she just lay on the platform and let it drop her down into the ground. She lay on the floor for a long while after the elevator reached the bottom. Not quite able to find the energy nor inclination to move. She put her pipboy free arm over her eyes and let out a long sigh. Sleeping right here would do nicely.

"Loitering here is not allowed." Danses voice penetrated her snooze, sounding a little amused. She kept her eyes closed and blew a wet, noisy raspberry in the general direction of the voice.

She heard the gate open and heavy footfalls step onto the platform. She heard him hunker down beside her and then felt him worm his arms underneath her and lift her easily off the floor.

"Nooo…" She moaned dramatically. "The floor is good, leave me there to sleep."

He, of course, ignored her and carried her through the vault towards her room. She heard him walk through the office and felt her perch dip as he used his elbow to open the door to her quarters.

He lay her softly on her bed and she felt him tug at the laces on her boots. She decided at that point to help out a little. She reached for the clasp on her belt and undid it with a click. She undid the zipper on her jacket… that was as far as she got before she was asleep.

She woke up in the morning to find she had been stripped of her roadwear. Her armour was stacked neatly on top of the dresser, her boots tidily on the floor at the foot of her bed and her leathers stowed in her trunk. Her guns were leaning against the wall by the door and her belt was coiled on the chair. She was lying in her undershirt, knickers and socks, her head resting on her comfy pillow and she was draped in her blanket.

She sat up as she heard a shuffling sound coming from the floor of her room and looked over the edge of the bed to see Danse sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag.

What the fuck was he doing down there?

She checked the time on her pipboy and reached out her leg towards the sleeping man, nudging his shoulder with her toe.

"Oi PD…Why are you on the floor?" She whispered loudly.

"Because you had me kicked out of the visitors house…" He mumbled before rolling onto his side, showing her his massive back before continuing in a sleepy grumble. "I was sleeping in here while you were gone… now you're back… I am displaced."

Oh yeah… she had told Marcie to move him.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor, it's not like we haven't slept next to each other before."

"With all due respect General... I don't think that would be a good idea. It is not appropriate for a CO to be seen fraternising with subordinates and previous experience has taught me that I cannot function effectively when distracted by… lack of rest. I will find alternate accommodation today"

She gave an inward groan… he was obsessed with what was appropriate and what wasn't. She stood up from her bed and stepped over him in a huff. The big shut out. Typical bloody man.

"I will address your concerns in the morning briefing soldier, which will convene at o-nine hundred hours. I will put you in your correct place." She stepped into her bathroom and wished she had the ability to slam the door… she didn't and the whoosh of the door closing was not even close to being satisfying.

She washed and dressed with care, arranging her hair in a tidy and authoritive bun (if hair could speak to authority, a bun was the way to do it, she guessed) before stepping out of her bathroom, Danse was gone from the floor and his gear stowed in a tidy pile by the door. She stepped out into the office and walked purposefully towards the common area. She'd had County Crossing radio ahead to Preston to organise a meeting to talk about the events on the Prydwen. The common area was big enough to house all of the participants. Or so she had thought until she saw the bodies packed inside the door as she approached.

The senior staff of Sanctuary, the Diamond City people and quite a few hangers on crowded into the room. She cleared her throat and the group of people bunched by the door all looked to her before parting like the Red Sea to let her into the room. She strode to the spot held free for her at the head of the table. Preston on one side and Nick Valentine on the other.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen… and you buggers at the back." She gave a grin to the curious group. "You all can stay for a while, but I expect you to return to your duties shortly." She looked at each of them one by one.

"I will get the Prydwen in a moment. I just want to address a housekeeping item first. There is no real chain of command with the Minutemen and it is confusing to some. I found it hard to describe some of you all to Elder Maxson while we were in our talks. I'd like to float this passed you. A simplified army ranking system."

"I am the General. Preston, you're my second. I'm going to rank you as Colonel. The following people will hold the rank of Major, who will report to Preston. Danse, Sturges, Codsworth, Curie, Nick… and MacCready … when he eventually shows up again. Below that echelon are the Captains; Haylen, Dr Sun, Marcie, Jun, Piper Wright, Travis 'lonely' Miles and Cait. More captains will be selected shortly but this was just a quick work up. Preston and I will work out the final details shortly. These are your community leaders. Look to them." A few of the people who she had selected looked confused by their sudden elevation in the community. Some shrugged, they would just keep on keeping on.

"I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to the young Brotherhood Elder. Later today the personal effects of those displaced by the Diamond City Occupation will be delivered by Vertibird. Please check everything. I want to know what's missing and what's broken. Sturges, if you would be so kind as to help Piper with her printing press when it arrives that would be nice. Moe, Arturo you won't be getting your stock back but I have arranged for compensation. I don't recommend any of you returning to the city, but you are welcome to if you want… excluding Zwicky, Edna and Nick… sorry."

There was murmur around the room. It was unlikely that any of the fourteen refugees would be returning to Diamond City.

"I'd like to welcome all of you to Sanctuary. It might not be the place that you wanna be, but you're welcome all the same. I will talk to all of you separately later" She gave a brief smile before continuing.

"Very shortly we will be welcoming Brotherhood soldiers into our settlements. They will be a presence; they will assist the locals in any way that they can. They will not sit around and be waited on. Their presence is to be in exchange for _some_ supplies. Anything else that the Brotherhood require will be bought and paid for like any other trader. They had a miscommunication and overstepped their bounds at Greygarden. That will not happen again… or so I have been assured. Colonel Ronnie Shaw at the Castle will be in charge of this, with her logistical background, she's the most suited to the task and she's not someone to be fucked with"

The meeting continued for another hour or so, they backed and forthed over what the Brotherhood could and couldn't do. The ongoing plans on the planned fight with the Institute. What information would be passed on to whom, and on and on…

Max eventually rounded everything up with one last announcement. "One last thing everyone… I will be going back into the Institute tomorrow to retrieve a scientist. Meeting adjourned."

I was a bit of a bombshell. People were silent for a moment before all breaking out into a noisy uproar. Danse was on his feet, his face outraged. Preston looked shocked and everyone else just talked over each other. Max stood up from her seat, shuffled her papers and strode from the room not wanting to argue with anyone. The argument was coming but that didn't mean she had to sit there and wait for it. As she passed through the office, the radio beeped with an incoming call from the surface.

"Get that will you, Preston." She ordered, knowing that he and Danse were only a few steps behind her. She dumped the papers onto her bed as he went to the radio.

"Vertibirds inbound, Preston" Came the voice from the gate lookout. "Do we raise the alarm?"

"Not this time… they're expected." Preston signed off before turning to Max, his expression hard. "We're going to go and sort out the vertibirds, then we're going to talk, General."

"Yes, we're definitely going to talk." Danse added from the doorway. His face was dark too. She sighed inwardly remembering the days long battle with him when she was going to use the relay.

"Fine then, later." She breathed, infuriated by the two men, "Danse, I want you in Power Armour to help with the unloading, keep your helmet on though… you're supposed to be dead. Preston; every spare body helping please. I want this over and done with as fast as possible."

Two vertibrids were on the ground by the time Max, made it to the surface. Two more sat on the roadway outside of the settlement waiting for the opportunity to unload. Max noted that Maxson had lent a couple of knights to help with the unloading as well as the lancers to fly the airships. They were wary, but civil. They smartly offered the Brotherhood salute as she approached "General Everton."

"Gentlemen, thank you for getting here so smartly."

One of the lancers stepped forward. "We are carrying the personal effects for Moe Cronin, Danny Sullivan, Arturo Rodriguez, Doctor Sun, Albert Sheffield, Pastor Clements and Colin Zwicky."

Max heard Preston issuing instructions and the owners came forward casting suspicious looks at the Brotherhood soldiers.

The lancer handed a clipboard for each person to Preston and turned back to Max. "There are some large items to come, ma'am. The two birds outside the gates have the contents of The Dug-Out Inn and Valentines Detective Agency and there are two more enroute with radio equipment and a printing press, among other sundry items."

Max smiled at the young pilot. "You've done well Lancer. I'll be sure to mention your efforts to Elder Maxson." The kids chest swelled with pride and he saluted her again before stepping back into line to help with the unloading.

Everything moved quickly and efficiently, most of Sanctuary pitched in as two vertibirds were emptied. They lifted off and were replaced by the next two. The manifests were handed over and they were unloaded as quickly and efficiently as the first. As they lifted off, two more vertibirds appeared in the sky. Hanging from beneath one was Pipers printing press and the under the other was Travis' whole trailer.

The first Vertibird lowered the trailer to the ground and then landed not far away once it was unhooked. The second followed suit with Pipers printing press. Max went to meet the Lancers and was surprised to see Arthur Maxson extract himself from the cockpit of one of the birds.

"Elder Maxson. So good to see you again so soon… you're looking well rested." She mocked him a little.

He gave her a rare hint of a smile. "General Everton, you are looking as radiant as ever." He surprised her further by taking her hand and raising it to his lips, his azure eyes had a dark glint in them. "I have a small gift for you and I wanted to present it to you in person… a token of my esteem."

He released her hand and reached into the vertibird and pulled out an aluminium tin with a plastic lid. He held it out to her and she took it. She looked up at him, her expression curious and one eyebrow raised.

"You didn't have to do that, Arthur. I have nothing to give you in return." She said as she turned the tin over in her hands. She held it up and unfastened the lid before being hit with the strong, heavenly aroma of coffee. "Oh. My. God..." She breathed, looking with awe into the nearly full tin of coffee beans.

She fastened the lid securely and then leaped off the ground, wrapping her arms around Maxsons neck and kissing him full on the lips before dropping back to the ground and hugging the tin to her. "Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee…" She intoned with glee.

It was more of a reaction than Maxson could have hoped for. He tried to keep his countenance as she danced around, oblivious to all of the people around her watching. She gathered Maxson in another quick hug before calling to a Mr Handy robot.

"Codsworth, this is mine… if anyone touches it, set fire to them." She said sternly has he floated to her side. She handed him the tin and patted him on his dome.

"I shall protect it with my life, mum" He replied seriously before floating away.

Max turned back to Maxson, her emerald eyes bright. "I will find the absolute perfect gift for you, I promise. You have made me a very happy lady."

She was absolutely enchanting Maxson thought to himself. She may have been a few years older than him but she was definitely stirring something in him that could not be denied.

"No return gift is needed, Max." Maxson said "Next time we meet, take the time to play a game of chess with me… I have a feeling you will give me a run for my caps." He smiled briefly and nodded his head in goodbye before boarding the vertibird.

Max waved goodbye, the delighted smile still etched on her face with no sign of leaving. She backed away from the bird and watched it as it took off before she headed back up towards the vault. She walked past the power armoured Danse. In the shadow of one of the houses he removed his helmet and looked down on her smiling face.

"I don't like the way he looked at you… it's rapacious." Danse said it with a frown, his eyes dark.

Max cast a quick glance over at his face, the smile spreading more widely over her features. "Are you jealous?" she gently mocked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Danse rocked away from her. "You're the General of the Minutemen, that would be seriously improper. I was merely urging caution."

Max gave him a long look, before turning and walking away, humming to herself.

"You're a complete idiot." Robert Joseph MacCready was reclining in the afternoon shadows, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and an incredulous look on his face. It was him who spoke so insolently.

"When did you get back?" Danse asked shortly.

"Just now… I'm hiding, I'm not a fan of heavy lifting… Anyways as I was saying. I was just watching that little exchange and I've gotta say. You're a complete idiot." He adjusted his hat, shook his head slowly in disbelief and took the smoke out of his mouth. "Every man in the Commonwealth would kill to be in your shoes as far as the Boss goes... not a few women too. She won't wait for you forever, you know." MacCready took a long drag of his cigarette and blew out the smoke lazily. "You'd better tell her that you love her soon or she'll move on and you'll feel like a right chump when she moves onto another guy… the one who's not afraid to let her know how he feels."

MacCready flicked his cigarette out onto the road and unwound himself from the patio chair he was sitting in. "It might be him." He inclined his head in the direction of the departing vertibird. "You never know … Might even be me…" He gave Danse a wink, shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched away.

Danse looked after the young mans retreating back, his startled face draining of colour and becoming horrified.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 – Institute Schminstitute**

The unloading and checking took a long time…and a lot of man power. Max used the hullabaloo to sneak back to her room to suit up. She had Codsworth brew her a cup of coffee, which she enjoyed in silence for a moment or two and then she lifted her pipboy and flicked the radio to the classical station. It all would have gone to plan if Danse had not come looking for her.

"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously as he entered her room unannounced with a grim look of determination on his face. "Were you going to sneak away without telling anyone?"

Max looked up at him guiltily. "So ummm… I'm leaving for the institute now… can you tell everyone where I am?"

"You're not going." Danse said simply, that stupid bloody frown crumpling up his face

Max balled up her fists in frustration… at the man himself, not the words.

"Listen, Richard." She grated. "You can't call me the general one minute and then order me around the next. I think that you use my rank as a flimsy excuse to keep your distance… if you saw me as your superior officer really, you would not speak to me in such an insubordinate manner…. Dickhead."

Danses frown slipped away instantly to a look of dismay.

"General Everton." He spoke formally, his back straightening. "I respectfully request that the mission to infiltrate the Institute and retrieve the scientist be given to me. I would like to the opportunity to prove myself to the Minutemen. Prove that I am worthy of the rank of Major, as bestowed on me at this mornings briefing."

"Request denied Soldier." Max shook her head stubbornly, "I promised Elder Maxson that I would see to this personally and I won't go back on my word."

Danses eyes glittered darkly. "Why do you do this? It's not your place to do everything yourself."

"I would never ask anyone to do something that I would not be prepared to do myself." She declared, her temper becoming hot.

"With all due respect General... That's Stupid." Danse snorted disdainfully, "If something happens to you, then we're leaderless. The Minutemen are still in the process of rebuilding and losing you at this juncture would break them for good."

"I'm not debating this with you, I'm going… I already have experience in the Institute, I know where Dr Li is and I have the pipboy."

Danse was furious now."I have to go… the last time you went in there it almost broke you... You won't even say what happened. No one can stand to see you like that again."

"Danse, you are a synth…" Max verbally hit him where it hurt. "If you go in there and are discovered, they could use your recall code against you… they could enslave you again, you wouldn't be you anymore. It's too dangerous for you."

"And it's no less dangerous for you." Danse scoffed "What, don't you think I can do this?"

"I won't lose you. I love you, you fucking moron." She shouted, her reserve finally giving way.

She activated the code on her pipboy and ground her finger into the switch. In a flash and crackle of electrical light and sound, she was gone. Danse stared at the spot on the floor that she had occupied just a second ago.

'I love you…'

He blinked once…Twice. And then turned on his heal and ran for the surface.

He tore through Sanctuary like a bullet, sliding to a stop in front of Preston Garvey.

"She's gone… send me after her." Danse panted. He nodded in the direction of the relay… "Send me now, I can still help her."

Preston tried to process the sudden arrival, the news and the request all at once, his face going through a range of emotions.

"Preston!" Danse insisted.

Preston finally nodded and shouted in a parade ground voice. "Sturges, Haylen! To me now"

Danse and Garvey walked quickly towards the relay interceptor still standing where they had left it. They had planned on dismantling it and using the space to build another house. It hadn't been used or even thought of since the day that they had sent Max through it the first time.

Sturges was the first to arrive. He looked at the relay uncertainly when Preston told him to start it up again. "I don't know, man. We'll have to do a full diagnostic first… it may take a while."

"Fuck the diagnostic, start it up… I'll take my chances." Danse was frantic now, time was slipping away from him. Every second they wasted talking was a second that she was alone in there.

Haylen arrived and with one look at her former CO's face, kicked the generators to life and took up post in front of the terminal. "Give me a sec to find the signal again…" She started turning the dials, honing the signal to the old coursers tether.

Sturges still looked unconvinced but took up position as well. The rest of Sanctuary had keyed on that something was afoot and a crowd had started to gather at the relay. Sturges nodded to Danse, letting him know that they were ready. Danse secured his Laser rifle to his back and stood on the platform. His thoughts were consumed with Max…'I love you…'

* * *

Max stood in the relay room on the inside of the Institute. She had her head in her hands and she was groaning as if in pain.

What had she just said? She shook her head and sighed. That was most likely going to start a shitstorm when she got back. Oh god… the look on his face. She had to push it from her mind. She was behind enemy lines now and needed to focus.

She peeked outside, her head darting in & out of the relay room to take stock of the control room and hallway beyond. She noted in the glance that there were two new laser turrets at the far end of the hall… they had not been there before. She took careful aim with her 10mm, it was nowhere near as accurate as The Last Thing but she should be able to make the shot from here. She didn't want to destroy them, just disable their targeting matrixes. Destroying them might enable the alarms and she didn't need a room full of coursers right now.

She squeezed the trigger and heard a satisfying fizzing sound from the other end of the hall as the shot hit true. She took aim at the other turret and squeezed again. The first shot missed and she had to correct quickly and take the shot again. The second hit true. She slipped up to the terminal and checked the status of the alarms, it seemed that she had made it in undetected. She pulled up the maintenance schematic that she knew was in the data bank. They had a copy back at Sanctuary and it was her plan to use the maintenance tunnels to get to Advanced Systems. She could not afford to be seen this time around.

She identified the hatch that she needed and downloaded the route to her pipboy… maybe she could fill in some of the gaps in their sitemap while she was here. She hunkered down and detached the covering panel from the wall and using the light from her pipboy leaned in to have a quick look inside.

The loud whirring of the relay starting up again bought her out of the tunnel with a start. She drew her 10mm and crept back to the relay room. She levelled her gun at the center of the room and waited for whatever was going to materialise there.

She gasped aloud when Danse appeared, he staggered on his feet and fell to his knees the same way she had when she first travelled by relay. He didn't retch the way she had but he was definitely disorientated.

"What are you doing here, you fool?" She gulped in air as she went to him, helping him get unsteadily to his feet.

"You don't just end an argument by saying you love someone and then disappearing." He panted. "… and you call me rude."

"We could be found any second." She said urgently, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the maintenance tube. "Hope you don't get claustrophobic." She shoved him head first into the tunnel and crawled in feet first after him. She grabbed the panel and replaced it behind them, waiting quietly to see if anyone came into the control room. It was lucky the room was totally automated otherwise both of them might be dead now.

She contorted herself in the enclosed space to turn around.

"Go straight until you get the tube heading down." She whispered to the bottoms of Danses boots. He moved out quickly and quietly, army crawling in true soldier fashion. She would have it out with him soon, he could damn well bet on that. She had planned on delivering Dr Li directly to the Prydwen, with Danse here she couldn't do that now. She needed to rethink her whole plan.

"Just you wait 'til I get you alone, you big twat." She grated just loud enough for him to hear. "I am so furious with you right now."

He didn't reply, he just kept up the fast crawl until he reached the junction that they needed.

"I'm at mark." He said softly.

"Right, we're going down then and we are running silent, understand me soldier?"

"Yes Ma'am" He slid over the top of the hole and allowed her room to go down first and then he followed into the seemly bottomless pit. It was weird having someone with her. When she ran ops like this before, she was normally alone, she had to wonder how covert he could be. The Brotherhood of Steel focused on Power Armour training and charging in, guns blazing. They did the exact opposite of what she needed right now. She hoped Danse would not ruin it for both of them.

They reached the bottom and Max checked their position on her pipboy. She wanted to come out in Lis office inside the Advanced Systems section. They were above Bioscience, she took the tunnel leading left. She wished that she hadn't burned her bridges when she was here the last time. She could have just walked in and taken Li instead of crawling through this tunnel on her belly. She had tried not to think about her last visit. She had tried to bury it, to dwell on that sort of thing was pointless when the was so much more going on.

She had been so distracted by her thoughts that she almost didn't see the slither of red light bisecting the tunnel until she was within a hair of it. She stopped dead and examined the little laser, following it with her eyes to its source and then following the wire that connected it to the flame thrower. That would have hurt. Of course, there had to be defences in place. For pest control if nothing else.

She fumbled through her belt and pulled out her screwdriver. She made quick work of disarming it, before moving on more cautiously.

She had to disarm two more laser tripwires before they found themselves where they wanted to be. Max peered through the grate overlooking Madison Lis desk. The doctor wasn't in the room. Max eased the grate open and carefully dropped to the floor. Danse followed almost as quietly as her. She signalled him to take up position by the door and Max waited on the other side.

She checked her pipboy again. It had taken a good two hours to traverse the maintenance tubes to get here. Li came into her office at nine PM on the dot, to get a few peaceful hours in. She was unimpressed with her subordinates and hated their inane chatter during actual work hours. They were running to schedule. In a few minutes Li would walk through the door.

Time ticked by. Max looked over at Danse and he was watching her intently. She could feel his need to talk to her and his frustration at not being able to. She gave him a frown and signalled for him to focus.

They heard the exterior door to the office swoosh open and closed. They heard footsteps walking purposefully towards the office and seconds later the door opened and Dr Li walked passed them both into the room.

* * *

Arthur Maxson was deeply involved in a dream when her soft voice penetrated his consciousness.

"Arthur, wake up." She said. He felt a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake. He could feel her breath on his face and deeply inhaled the scent he had come to recognise as hers. Leather, carrot flower and danger.

His eyes snapped open and he sat up in his bed in alarm. She was sitting next to him. Perched on the edge of his bed looking at him with a smile.

"Oh good, you're awake. I have a present for you." She grinned.

"How do you keep getting in here?" He asked in exasperation, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep and clear his head.

"Oh, come on Arthur, a girl has to have some secrets… do you want your gift or not?" She asked coyly.

He shifted back and straightened his pillows behind him. "Fine, what is it?" he said testily.

She bit her lip and stood up. "Arthur Maxson, may I present Doctor Madison Li, Head of Advanced Systems for the Institute."

Dr Li stepped forward into the light. "Elder Maxson, It's a pleasure to see you again."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: HI All. I just wanted to let you know that I will be going over previous chapters to spell check etc... I do it every now and then. I will also be condensing the prologue and chapter one into one thing... so the chapters will match up properly. Might be couple of days. Please review what I've done so far. I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl so I need reassurance that I'm flying in the right direction. This Chapter is filler to tidy up what just happened, we'll be getting into it again next one.**

 **Chapter 26 – Let the Games begin**

Former Paladin, current Major Richard Alexander Danse stood in front of her… unrepentant.

"The relay interceptor was unstable… how could you be so stupid? What would have happened if it had failed, what if I had been captured or killed and they were waiting for you…" She had lots of things to say to him and he stood to attention in front of her desk and listened to every word, his eyes boring into her. The tirade had been going on for some time and she was running out of things to say now without repeating herself. She had started with hard and fast bullet points listing every reason that him following her into the Institute was unwise… now she was just rambling.

"Seriously, of all the dumbass bullshit that you could have pulled… do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"If I may, Ma'am?" Danse replied, finally getting a word in. He didn't wait for her to affirm the request. "I love you, you fucking moron."

Max gaped up at him from her chair.

"I have never been good at this sort of thing… there are probably protocols to follow… I don't know. But this is how you told me so …" Danse shrugged.

Max could have done a number of things in response to his declaration. She chose to clamber over her desk on her hands and knees, grab hold of the collar of his jumpsuit and drag his mouth to hers. It wasn't dignified but it didn't matter. Danse wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back fervently, dragging her off the desk and pulling her to him.

Her feet dangled off the ground, so she put them to use and wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him.

They heard a discrete cough and dragged their lips away from each other to look back at the doorway to see Cait and MacCready standing there. MacCready had the decency to look apologetic, but Cait had a wide grin plastered on her face.

Danse sighed had lowered Max to the ground.

"What?" Max asked rudely.

RJ tried not to smile. "Preston needs you urgently." He said shortly.

She looked up into Danses warm chocolate eyes, ran her hand down the side of his face and smiled crookedly. She whispered 'later' and walked passed him towards her two former friends. Danse turned to watched her go.

"I swear to God, RJ, this had better be nothing less than Nuclear fucking war..." She grated at him as the two of them left the room. Cait paused in the doorway and gave Danse a grin and two thumbs up before following. He stifled his disappointment and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

* * *

Piper Wright had been writing furiously since her printing press had arrived. She had been tasked with getting the truth out there. It was what she had always wanted to do and now she had the resources to do it. And now it wasn't just her, she had a staff of researchers, full access to previously hidden information and distribution throughout the whole Commonwealth. The General herself has acquiesced to a one on one interview. MacCready had offered her one too, but Piper declined in her usual snide fashion.

She would be meeting with the Head of the Brotherhood of Steel as well, when he was in Sanctuary today for a war council. She was now right in the mud with the News, where she should be. People were flooding into Sanctuary Hills for the council and Piper pulled people aside for quotes and pumped them for information. She had met an Institute scientist who used to be a Super Mutant for Christs sake… how awesome was that?

And… AND! She was now a Captain in the Commonwealth Minutemen... a trusted advisor and community leader.

Piper had been initially intimidated by the General when she had met her. She was a personality that one did not, under any circumstances mess with. You could see it in her eyes. The hardness, the darkness and the unwavering insight.

She had told Piper that she was to resume her paper, no conjecture or rumour, but real truth with as many resources as needed at her disposal. Piper had thought that she had made the worst impression on the woman, but the general just wanted to be clear that she understood that Piper had worked with what she had and used her gut to fill in the blanks but that that would not work any more.

She had just written a piece on Synths. She had talked to several Synths including the man who seemed to be the Generals boyfriend and had to get it out there that the Institute were the enemy to everyone. Not all Synths were bad. She was happy that she could finally be taken seriously. Diamond City could kiss her arse.

It had been frightening when the Brotherhood Vertibirds had descended into the Stadium, but more frightening, had been the crazed response from the people who were once her neighbours.

She waited by the small field that had been cleared for the impending arrival of the Brotherhood contingent. She planned on talking to the Elder as soon as he alighted. Before he could be whisked away and be given time to prepare his answers. She had a responsibility to be a hard hitting, fact finding machine. Candid and honest interviews were the key. No rehearsed and carefully scripted speeches would suffice.

Piper looked to the horizon as the sound of Vertibird engines became apparent.

Two of the great airships approached Sanctuary. Piper felt the presence of the General behind her and glanced at the woman.

She was dressed in her customary tight fitting leather wear and a 10mm pistol hung from her hip. The general was never unarmed. She rested her hand on the weapon. She stood tall and yet relaxed with an air of unconscious elegance, her green eyes focused on the birds. She had a crooked smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Piper was in awe of her, especially after everything she had learned about her during their interview.

The vertibirds touched down gracefully on the improvised landing pad and a group of soldiers disembarked swiftly. The last to exit was Elder Maxson himself, he had apparently been flying one of the machines. Piper noted it.

Maxsons eyes trained on the General and he strode confidently towards her. He nodded his head formally and then took her hand familiarly before touching it to his lips and complimenting the General. Piper narrowed her eyes and watched more closely.

She had initially wanted to pounce on him and bombard him with questions, but the look in his eye when he had the Minutemen leader in his sights gave her pause.

Oh… this was _too_ good.

* * *

They walked side by side up the hill to the vault. They were far apart enough for propriety but close enough for comfortable conversation.

"This is an impressive settlement, General. I have meant to compliment you on it during our previous encounters here." Maxson said, his piercing eyes taking in the walls, gates, defences, guards …everything.

"Thank you Elder, we do try our best." Max replied conversationally, "Though the gates and walls don't do much when the enemy can teleport right through them… Have you had any encounters with the institute yet?"

"Arthur is fine, Max. I think we're past addressing each other by our titles." Maxson gave an infinitesimal smile. "and no, they haven't made an attack on us as yet"

"Can I call you, Artie? " Max grinned, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"No, you can't" He countered.

"What about A-Dogg?" She chortled.

He gave her a hard stare. "Actually, call me Elder."

Max laughed.

She cast a long look in his direction, her expression becoming serious.

"I have something to tell you… and you won't like it." She told him warily.

He looked sharply at her.

"Danse is one of my senior staff. He will need to be present during these talks."

Maxson stopped dead in his tracks, his brows drawing together in sudden anger.

"You can't be serious... Absolutely not." Maxson growled "Every man and woman I have with me was told that it was dead… You will have me look a fool."

"Arthur, He's a good leader and a great tactician. He has a wealth of knowledge on the Commonwealth and he has the loyalty of the Minutemen. He's a vital part of our community now."

"I spared it for you and only you." Maxson ground out, trying to contain his anger. "How can you throw this in my face?… now of all times, when I have my officers here."

He glanced down the hill towards the group of Brotherhood staff, everyone had stopped to watch the two suddenly arguing, but not hearing what they were saying. "You'll make me seem feebleminded, a liar, I should never have compromised the Brotherhood codex for you." His teeth were grinding together in an effort not to shout at her

Max stepped towards him and touched his face with her soft hand, turning his furious eyes to hers.

"OK… OK Arthur… I'm sorry. I won't embarrass you." She had anticipated it, but she had hoped to be able to have Danse with her. "Let me go ahead. You won't have to see him. But one of the ideas I wanted to put out there was his…"

Maxson drew a long deep breath. "I know it is your friend but can you honestly blame me in this?"

"No… I'm sorry." She turned and shouted down the hill. "PRESTON!"

Preston was at her side in a moment, his footfalls kicking up dust.

"Please escort the Elder to the common area. I will meet you there shortly. I have something to attend to." She ordered, before ploughing ahead of them mounting the elevator platform and descending into the vault.

She found Danse sitting at the desk in the office. He looked up at her as she entered reading her expression as he did so.

"He didn't go for it, did he." Danse sighed. "It's OK, I didn't think he would."

"You won't be a part of the meeting but you will be kept up to date I swear." She spoke in a rush, not wanting to be away for too long. "and you are instrumental in the planning and execution in whatever happens. But I can't undermine him."

"Of course not." Danse agreed. "You'd better get back to them."

She nodded and turned to leave, but turned back and hurried to him, placing an ardent kiss on his lips. "I love you." She said quickly before heading out the door to the common area. Danse smiled as he watched her go. How did he get so lucky?

Max hurried into the common room where the Minutemen and Brotherhood were milling around. Max was surprised to see Maxson speaking to Nick in a civilized fashion, how had that come about?

They had set up the place in boardroom fashion. Max took the seat at the head of the table and waited for everyone to realise that she was there. Maxson saw her first and took the seat next to her rather than sit at the opposite end of the table as was customary.

"Everyone, Sit" Maxson ordered stridently over the din.

The Brotherhood contingent moved quickly to take their places and most of the Minutemen did as well. RJ leaned by the door to finish his cigarette and Cait casually sauntered over to the table in her own sweet time casting a flirty wink at one of the Brotherhood men. Max grinned at her.

"We'll start with introductions and then we'll get down to the first 'official' council of the Brotherhood Minuteman Coalition… we need to think of a snappier title than that, though." Max looked down at Maxson, "So, who did you bring with you?"

Maxson introduced this people, Max looked at each of them as he did so, gauging whom she could work with and whom she would ignore. Ingram… Cade… Kells… Neriah. Yes. Quinlan… Teagan. No. There were also three Paladins. Brandis, Hudson and MacNamara.

She in turn introduced her team. All of the Brotherhood contingent looked hard at Haylen when her name was called. She looked back at them boldly and scooted closer to Sturges. Max could see Maxson doing the exact same thing she had done, sizing up her crew.

"Right, now that's over with and we're all friends, Let's get down to this." Max announced.

"We have a plan."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 – Plans into Action**

Major Danse was confident.

He knew more about General Maxine Everton than anyone and he knew that with her at their head, this plan would not only work, it would be easy… 'a piece of cake' as she would say.

He found the armoured stealth suit a little too fitting for his comfort but he could see the benefits of them considering he was standing in the midst of a group of Brotherhood peers and none had recognised him. The disconcerting weight of the pipboy on his left wrist had taken some getting used to, but Max barely ever took hers off and she functioned with no lack of precision, so he would just have to suck it up.

Even in the stealth suits he knew which person she was amongst the dozen of them. She was taller than the other ladies in the group and her poise and unconscious grace was evident in every move she made and the enticing shape of her body had been intimately explored by him since their return from the Institute… he knew it anywhere.

It was nearing midnight and the small incursion team had assembled before they made their assault on the Institute. Max and Maxson had agreed that if they could preserve the Institute facility they would. This team would be sent into capture it. If they were to fail, then a full-scale assault would be attempted. Liberty Prime would be bought on-line and the facility would be blown into oblivion.

But Max wanted what the Institute had, they had to at least try and get it intact for all the good that it would do for the Commonwealth. The medicine, the agricultural advancements. And Maxson had seen the benefits of having the site open to his scribes. Quinlan had been fizzing at the prospect of inspecting all of the tech that would be on offer if successful.

So here they were; six Brotherhood brothers and sisters and six Minutemen militia; a true amalgamation of the two very different groups. Max lead the Minutemen, MacCready, Cait, Preston, Sturges and Danse (introduced as Elvis Presley, he didn't know why that was funny but Max had thought it was hilarious). Maxson had opted to lead the Brotherhood himself. He was followed by Brandis, Teagan, Hudson, MacNamara and the newly promoted Paladin Rhys.

Danse had been worried when he had seen his former squad member in the group. Rhys had glared at Haylen and shot daggers of pure hatred at his precious Max but Rhys didn't even take notice of the large silent man in the stealth suit whom he had assumed was a former Gunner Merc named Elvis.

Maxson on the other hand _did_ take note of Danse, hidden in plain sight. He had pulled Max aside and growled at her out of earshot. Max had argued back, her arms waving around and gesturing in all directions. They had eventually silently stared each other down before returning to the group. Maxson had glared at Danse but had not said anything more.

The dozen strong incursion team checked and double checked their supplies and equipment. Those who had never used pipboys went over the controls and flicked through the applications. The Pipboys were on loan from vault 81, they had been fitted with chips replicated from the one in Maxs pipboy by the Doctors Li and Virgil. The plan was simple. The twelve of them would relay into the site, Ingram and Haylen would be relayed in to take control of the relay room and the team would spread across the facility via the maintenance shafts. They would take control of the environmental systems, the reactor, the security hub and the SRB.

They would have to eliminate Synth Retention. The coursers where their main worry. They were close to super human, faster and stronger that any of them. The Brotherhood soldiers had been amazed when told that Max had killed one. Though she had reiterated that it was only a fluke and she was just lucky.

Max sidled up to Danse as he stowed extra ammunition in one of the concealed pockets in his suit.

"I am loving what that suit is doing for you." She whispered intimately.

Danse smiled beneath his face cover.

"Decorum prevents it, but I really want to be close to you right now." He whispered back.

"PD, when this is over, everything we did last night, will be done all over again. With hand cuffs and a stun baton thrown in for good measure." She kept her face serious, giving away to anyone that might me watching them, no hint as to what was said. "You will beg me for mercy."

Danse gulped, his face growing hot. Everything that had happened the previous evening in the confines of their now shared quarters flitted through his head and he wondered where the stun baton would come into play.

She gave him a long look and moved away to admonish MacCready for harassing the attractive Paladin MacNamara who looked ready to bash his pretty face into a bloody pulp. Danse caught sight of Maxson watching at him, the look on his face was indecipherable. Danse could feel animosity coming from him even though it wasn't in his look and Danse knew that it was for more than his just continued existence as a synth. Maxson pulled the hood over his face and looked away.

It was midnight on the dot when the group were called to order.

Maxson and Max stood side by side, their faces hidden by the stealth hoods.

"Brothers and Sister" Maxson began. "I'm turning you over to General Everton now."

Max looked at each of her new team in turn, their faces covered and bodies enclosed in darkness.

"This has to be fast and quiet but keep in constant communication with each other. Do not lose your partners. Remember to watch for trips in the tunnels and above all else be careful. Do not take unnecessary risks. Get to your positions as quickly as possible. Does everyone know their Objectives?"

"Yes Ma'am." They all responded as one … except Cait who nodded, before casually muttering "yeah, yeah."

"Cait!" Max bit out forcefully.

Cait squared her shoulders. "Yes Ma'am."

"Good." She continued. "Pair up and tune in. We are a go."

The air was suddenly alive with the strains of Strauss' The Blue Danube as the team all tuned into the classical radio station for the signal that they would tether to.

"Let's go." Max barked.

The air was split by blinding light and the crackle of electrical currents as they all disappeared.

They all reappeared seconds later in the relay room. Max immediately signalled them all to move to opposing sides of the door. The control room was clear. But she eyed the turrets at the other end of the hall… Had they been fixed? Better safe than sorry.

She levelled her pistol at the turrets and squeezed off the rounds, both turrets were still damaged from the last time she had been here, their targeting computers inoperable. She signalled the team to all move and they slunk in and splintered off to their marks. Sturges and Teagan taking control of the terminal and tethering to Ingram and Haylen as they waited at Sanctuary. Max wished she had been able to get more pipboys out of Vault 81 so they wouldn't need to activate the relay twice, but they had negotiated hard for the eleven that they got.

Ingram and Haylen zapped into existence and after exchanging a long look of shared wonder, hurried to secure the terminal. Sturges touched Haylens face lingeringly before turning and moving to his position.

And then they scattered. Max did worry about their lack of experience on covert operations, but she also had faith in their common sense and ingenuity. She cast one last look at the panel that Danse had disappeared into, silently wishing him luck, before heading into the tubes.

She wanted SRB… she had specifically fought to be the one who dropped in on those bastards and she had the youthful badass Arthur Maxson at her side. She hoped that the stories she'd heard about him were true. Danse had assured her that they were, there was a reason that Maxson was the youngest Elder in the history of the Brotherhood. His lineage alone was enough to recommend him but the kid had proved himself a warrior and hero time and again. Even after everything, Danse was loyal to the Brotherhood and to Maxson.

Max scooted along the tube on her belly behind the others, she didn't know whose boots were in front of her. They reached the downward junction and one after the other dropped down into it. When they reached the bottom Max bought all eyes to her and signalled the need to watch for the trip lasers from now on. The group split up as they all headed for their different objectives.

Max checked her pipboy and Maxson did the same as they crouched in the tiny space together. Synth Retention was on the other side of the compound from where they were now. It would be slow going and they would be the last into position. They silently moved out, she went first to disarm any traps. It seemed the Elder was not so spry with manipulating electronics.

They were half way to their objective when the first team checked in.

"Rhys and Garvey, standing by." Came the whisper through Maxs headset.

They were followed by each team as each found their marks.

"MacCready and Hudson, standing by." "Sturges and Teagan, standing by." "Brandis and Presley, standing by."

"MacNamara and … what _is_ your last name?"

'It's just Cait, for fucks sake."

"MacNamara and Cait, standing by."

Max grinned to herself... Cait was a wild card. She had thought long and hard before choosing her. Cait was brash and loud mouthed. But she was an effective fighter and a proven sneaky bugger.

It was just Max and her partner to go. They wiggled through the tubes as fast as they dared, eventually coming to the duct that they needed. Max pressed her lips to her pipboy.

"Maxson and Everton. In position. On my Mark."

She kept her eyes on the time… the seconds ticked by… three… two…one "Mark"

Maxson kicked in the grate and they dropped into the room, standing shoulder to shoulder circling with their weapons cocked and raised. The lab was secure, closed and silent in the early morning.

They moved quickly… going from station to station, placing charges and arming them. They may have wanted the Institute, but this was something no one needed. Max might not have a problem with Synths but that didn't mean that the world needed more of them.

Maxson laid his final charge and nodded to Max, so far so good. She hoped that the other teams were doing as well as she and Maxson were. They made for the doors leading into the offices, opened them and slipped in.

The offices were not empty. Two coursers stood resolutely on either side of the hall and after their initial surprise at having two people suddenly come from the lab where no one should have been, they leaped at the General and the Elder before they could fire a shot at them, their weapons skittering across the floor.

Max was not a striker but she had extensive training in grappling. She had to get this guy to the ground. The courser dove at her and she deflected as best she could, turning her hip and using the coursers momentum to knock him to the floor, then she was on him. She scissored her thighs around his neck and grabbed hold of his closest appendages to control his movements.

He was physically stronger than her but the foreign tactics that she was using confounded him. He lashed out at whatever part of her that he could. Landing blows on her abdomen and chest. Max kept her head and waited out the pain. She squeezed her thighs together like a vice, cutting off blood flow to the coursers brain. His struggles slowly eased, but she waited until he wasn't moving at all before uncoiling her legs from his throat. She stood up panting heavily, retrieved her pistol from where it had fallen and casually put a couple of rounds in the unconscious coursers head.

She turned to Maxson, who had dispatched his courser quickly but had watched her tussle with her own. She wished she could see his expression. She heard him whisper something that sounded a lot like. "What a way to go." She smiled. She supposed that if you were going to die somehow, between her thighs was an interesting, if not attractive option for some.

They got to work again, quickly blanketing the whole lab with explosives. They wanted none of this data to survive.

They were done and waited for the next signal. Sturges and Teagan had taken the reactor and in a few minutes the lights would go out and they would enter the central quadrant to remove the patrolling coursers and be in place to meet the waking scientists to let them know that the Institute was no more.

Max suddenly had a terrible thought and a prickly sensation of warning moved up her spine…

There had only been two coursers here… Where were all the rest?

Maxson must have had the same thought, his head turned to hers in alarm.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I was super stuck on this chapter... still no sure if I'm happy with it... nah... might rewrite later.. we'll see. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, followed & favourited. I was honestly not expecting anyone to read my shit. Also, remember I am going to be condensing a chapter soon to make them line up.**

 **Chapter 28 – Devastation and Ruin**

The lights went out and all hell broke loose.

Coursers… Everywhere.

Max and Maxson stumbled into the central courtyard, guns blazing. The hoods on their stealth suits gave them night vision, so Max looked around quickly gauging the level of threat. The level was pretty fucking high…

They knew from their very detailed files that the Institute had twenty seventy coursers currently active. Two were dead on the floor of the SRB, leaving the dozen insurgents a further twenty five to face… yep, they all seemed to be here.

Maxs 10mm quietly flashed as she rained bullets on the coursers, they were tough. She had to nearly empty a whole clip into one before it went down for good. The laser rifles that were carried by the Brotherhood were, for some reason, near useless against them. The beams of focused light bounced off the coursers with such little effect that Maxson just began using his rifle as a club. Pounding it into the head of a courser until its skull shattered under the barrage.

Max had not anticipated the ineffectiveness of the Brotherhood weapons. But she should have. Their own stealth suits were designed to deflect energy weapons, it was the reason she had pressed them all into using them. The Institute coursers all used energy weapons and she saw it as a huge advantage if it were to come to this.

Why wouldn't the Institute employ the same or at least similar tech for their coursers? She cursed to herself. Projectiles and hand to hand combat were their best and only options. How many people in their group had the weapons and skills to fight these things?

Across the lush central court yard the sound of open combat rang out. She saw two of theirs, had to be Rhys and Preston, spill out of Advance Systems, beset on all sides by Coursers and she started in that direction to help, shouting into her pipboy. "Haylen, Ingram… we need reinforcements. No laser weapons. High Calibre rounds. Everyone… now!"

Maxson was on her heals as she barrelled into the closest courser, spear tackling it to the ground. Maxson smashed it in the face over and over with the butt of his rifle as it struggled with Max on the ground. She released it finally and was on her feet in a second. Her 10mm trained on the courser stalking Preston… she guessed it was Preston? She fired and emptied her clip into it… this wouldn't last if it took a whole magazine to bring one down. She only had two clips left. She had to admit to her shortcomings in hand to hand combat, especially against these things. She couldn't play the long grappling game here.

And then things just got worse.

Dozens of Gen two synths… dozens of them, joined the fight. They were easier to take down, being vulnerable to the energy weapons but there were just so many of them. By now there were ten of their people in the courtyard, they had all been pushed from their objectives. The only ones not there, seemed to be Teagan and Sturges who had taken the reactor. They must be OK, the lights were out, exactly as planned, but Preston and Rhys had been in there too and they were deeply involved with Coursers and Gen twos now. Ingram and Haylen must still be at the relay because there was the elevator descending into the courtyard, carrying her brave Minutemen. She saw Arturo, Nick and Moe in the group but had to turn away before she could identify anymore.

Maxson was on the ground, a courser astride his chest beating him about the face with its fists. Max came up behind it and levered her elbow around its throat and dragged it off him. She latched onto the courser, locking in a rear naked choke that left it flopping about on the floor, trying to be rid of her. Maxson took up guard of her and her flailing prey, his laser flashing brightly, eliminating a whole legion of Gen twos.

When she finally released the limp body of the courser she noted the elevator had opened and spilled the contents onto the quadrant floor. She saw Nick slap a .44 into the hand of a stealth suited man... it was Danse, she knew that vast frame anywhere.

The battle was in full swing now and Max dove into the fray headfirst, dispatching gen twos by the score, but the Coursers were so much harder to bring down and they stalked amongst the Minutemen and the insurgents like deadly vipers. One of the stealth clad team was down and not moving and two of the Minutemen who had just joined the fight were down just as quickly, their eyes wide, unblinking and devoid of life.

The two women, MacNamara and Cait, their body shapes easy to pick out in the stealth suits dropped one of the coursers together. Cait, pounding on the bastard with everything she had learned in the Combat Zone coming into play. Another went down, Max wasn't sure who it was in the stealth suits that dispatched it. She saw Danse tussling with one who was flitting in and out of sight, a stealthboy obviously being used. He seemed to have it well in hand so she picked out one at random and went for it. It was going for Nick so she grabbed it from behind and pressed her pistol against its ear and fired shot after shot into its brain.

Maxson was at her side again loading fresh fusion cells into his rifle. They both looked up together. More Minutemen were descending into the battle on the elevator from the relay room. It looked like Haylen and Ingram had literally called up everyone. Max saw Codsworth was one of this group, before she flew back into the fight. Where had all of these damned Gen twos come from?

* * *

Danse must be getting soft, too much time cosying up to the general and not enough time spent working his damned body. He had seen her across the central courtyard, dragging a Courser across the floor by its throat. She did not seem fatigued in the slightest, it seemed like a lovely amble in the park for her.

Danse didn't have time to dwell on it as he was then set upon by a courser of his own, it had come at him under the cover of a stealthboy, striking at Danse with the butt of a laser pistol and then leaping on him. Danse struggled with it, the stealthboy blinking on and off as they rolled on the floor, Danse managed to get control and rolled on top of it, ramming his elbows into its face with as much force as he could muster and it growled up at him as its face began to cave in, into a mushy puddle of blood, bone and gore.

Danse was up and breathing hard when saw that one of the team was down. He bolted towards them. He looked for a pulse before grabbing whoever it was and dragging their prone body across the floor to a sheltered area by some stairs. He pulled off the hood and swore. Hudson, one of his long time brothers in arms had fallen. MacCready had been his partner… Where was MacCready?

Danse had no time for grief. As he saw another of his team beset by a group of Gen twos and a Courser. Danse barrelled straight into the back of the Courser, the forceful shoulder charge sending the two of them both careening into a very solid wall. He wished that he hadn't spent all of his .44 rounds so quickly, the gun Nick Valentine had given him was tucked uselessly inside his suit.

Each precious round had found their mark, but it was too little to matter in this battleground. He struggled with his Courser, who was taken off balance by the tank of a man crashing into it. But Danse dispatched it quickly.

Or at least he thought he had, as soon as he turned his back the battered Courser was on its feet again and leaping onto Danses back and making an animal sound as it drove something sharp into the mans chest. Danse stumbled forward, pitching the courser over his head. He then stomped on it repeatedly until there was no way that it was getting up again, unless it could figure out how to sprout a new head. He hand went to his chest protectively and came away wet with blood. He fumbled with one of his pockets and drew out a stimpak depressing it into the wound. He didn't have time to bleed.

He circled around, looking for his next victim when he caught sight of something that made his blood run cold. He had to protect the Elder.

He ran… He ran with every ounce strength he could summon, hurtling across the circular courtyard like a bullet from a gun. Maxson move! … Move Dammit!

But Maxson didn't see, he was engaged with a courser and a small contingent of gen twos and Max couldn't protect his back as Preston was injured and she was batting back an institute lackey of her own. Everyone else was likewise engaged.

"Get Down Maxson!" He roared… no use, too much noise.

He sprinted hard and collected Maxson in his arms, ramming him hard into the steel doors of the Synth Retention Lab, sheltering the young leader with his body from the blast. The missile exploded as it hit where the elder had just been standing, the force of it propelling Danse hard against the door. He felt his forehead bounce off the hard steel and he saw stars.

Maxson. Was Maxson OK?

Danse looked over the Elder as best as could. The damned stealth suits. You couldn't see blood on the damned things.

"Elder? Are you OK?" Danse shouted.

Maxson shook his head to clear his ears of the ringing. "Fine soldier. My thanks."

Danse grabbed hold of Maxsons shoulder and looked hard at his former leaders covered face. Before turning and returning to the pitched battle behind him. He cast his eyes upward looking for the courser with the missile launcher. There it was, a level up on the balcony. It was looking down with malice, loading another missile onto the chamber. It straightened and took aim at Danse.

Danse was not going to stand around and wait for that to hit him. He was off again running across the courtyard and plunging into one of the stairwells taking the steps two or three at a time as he sought the courser that had almost killed his former leader and friend. He made it to the correct level and barrelled through the archway to the balcony and received a missile launcher to the chin for his trouble.

* * *

Max was fighting hard. She had dragged Preston out of the fray as best she could after using the last of her ammo on the courser that had injured him. She looked around quickly spotting a very fast moving Danse sprint across the floor and duck into a stairwell. She picked up a discarded laser rifle and sent a few blasts into a group of Gen twos. Their numbers didn't seem to be waning and there were still… what, ten? Twelve Coursers?

Maxson seemed to be getting targeted by them, he had two more on him now. Max drew a deep breath, held the laser rifle like a baseball bat and ran at them. She came at them low, swinging the laser rifle and striking in the back of the closest ones knees. It tumbled forwards knocking the other off balance. It gave Maxson the advantage and he began to lay into the courser. Max climbed astride the other and bashed at it with the laser rifle. She was taken aback when a hand carrying a loaded .44 popped into her line of sight and sent three rounds into her Coursers temple before the owner of the hand took off again.

She looked after him and climbed off the corpse and caught sight of movement in her peripheral vision. She caught her breath. Danse was hanging from the second level, clinging to the chest of courser who was struggling to shake him off. Danse fists were bunched in the black leather coat of the Institute Synth as he struggled to pull himself back up over the railing. She watched as he flailed about desperately trying to hang on.

She could almost see him make the decision. His body stilling of barest of moments before he braced his booted feet on the balcony wall and pushed himself back off with all of his might.

As if in slow motion, the courser was pulled forwards, teetering on the brink before finally falling over the edge, Danses strong hands pulling it to its demise. Danse fell along with it.

Her body froze as she watched him fall, as if in slow motion to the unforgiving sterile floor. The air seemed to be sucked from the room, from her very lungs. There was an odd pinging sound in her brain, like a wire that had been pulled too tight and had finally snapped under too much force. She heard a dull rushing in her ears as her blood began to surge through her veins and her sight became clarified and tinted red.

She made no sound as she surged forwards… no one would survive this terrifying onslaught tonight… the Wrath of Maxine Everton would be absolute.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 – Good Grief and Gone**

The Medical team descended on the elevator as the all clear was given and once at the ground level they dispersed to tend to the injured and confirm the dead. The stealth team and the Minutemen stood together, well back from the General eyeing her almost warily. Paladin Rhys was bugged-eyed as he looked over at her. He had almost been tempted to fight with… _that_?

Elder Maxson was so awestruck, he was almost scared to approach her. She had torn through the remaining Institute coursers like a maelstrom and there were none alive in her wake. The courtyard was scattered with the debris of Syths, organic and mechanical alike. She was splattered with blood and worse as she hunched on the floor, cradling the body of the Synth Danse in her lap, her arms clutching him to her as if she wanted to make him a part of her.

None of the assembled Brotherhood mentioned the fact that it was Paladin Danse that she was holding on to so tightly. He was supposed to be dead, dead at the hands of the Elder and yet here he was … dead again.

Maxson cautiously advanced towards the stricken woman, his mind still trying to process what he had just seen. The Vikings may have called it berserk, he recalled from his reading, a kind of battle insanity. But when he pictured something like that, he thought of frothing and howling giant men storming battlefields swinging axes, not the silent, cold, meticulously wrathful demon he had just witnessed.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and her head snapped up towards him, her eyes dead and empty… terrifying

"Max?" He was hesitant, this wasn't a woman before him, this was a machine of death and destruction. He would have been prepared for grief in those eyes; fury, sadness… anything. He wasn't ready for so much nothing.

She kept that empty gaze turned on him for a moment, those agate hard eyes boring through him before turning her head back down towards Danses still face.

Maxson backed away from her, releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding and casting an entreating look over at Proctor Cade who was amongst the medical team. Cade came forward and made to kneel down next to her when a low growl emitted from deep in her throat. She clutched Danses body even closer to her before slamming her fist into her pipboy and disappearing with the body. There was only one place that she could go to from here.

It was confirmed a moment later when Proctor Ingrams voice emanated from Maxsons pipboy.

"Elder… the General. She was here… gone now… By Steel, was that Danse?" Ingrams voice was strained and confused over the radio.

Maxson drew a long shuddering breath. From the relay room she could go anywhere in the commonwealth. He looked at the people… they had won the day. Or rather the General had. Now they were looking for guidance. No one really knew what had just happened. But they needed leadership and some kind of direction, they had been idle too long.

"Everyone." Maxsons voice boomed out. "Secure the facility. I want the Institutes inhabitants in this courtyard in no less than half an hour. Use force if necessary but do not kill anyone unless your own life is in danger. I want a group to help with triage and another on clean up. Let's get rid of these…" He gestured around the courtyard at the mass of Gen two synths bodies and the corpses of the Institute coursers."

The people were shaking their heads vaguely, clearing their minds of what had happened and replacing the thoughts with their new orders. They slowly began to come out of their mass trance and moved to follow Maxsons orders en masse. The Minutemen fanned out across the facility.

"Cade." Maxson turned to his Medical officer "I need to know our casualties right away. Danse… Danse was one of the incursion team… under the name of Presley."

Cade nodded, giving no indication of surprise.

"Incursion team to me." Maxson ordered and the remaining members of the stealth suited crew came forward. Those that could anyway. Preston was laid out on the floor with a Minuteman medic hovering over him worriedly. And the Merc, MacCready was being tended by Dr Sun for an injury that had painted his face with a mask of blood. The only three that could make it to his side were Rhys, MacNamara and Sturges, who had just emerged from the bowels of the reactor after restoring power and lifting the lockdown on the Institutes living quarters.

Cade was back after a few moment "From the incursion team sir. Deceased: Paladin Hudson, Paladin Brandis, Proctor Teagan and Miss Cait. Injured but stable: Preston Garvey and Robert MacCready. Missing: General Everton. Missing, Presumed Dead: Paladin Danse. And sir, you seem to be injured also." Cade was looking pointedly down at the Elders sternum which seemed to be wet with a steady stream of blood.

Maxson nodded vaguely "and the reinforcements… how many Minutemen did we lose?"

"I don't have the numbers yet, sir." Cade said hesitantly. The Brotherhood medical officer hadn't thought to check on the other Minutemen.

"Then get them!" Maxson said sharply. He was beginning to feel light headed and his sight was wavering. From the look of the many bodies sprawled on the floor of the Institute … they had lost a lot of Maxs people. He had not called for Brotherhood support... he had failed them all. He'd left others to fight Brotherhood battles, and to let others die in them as cannon fodder.

Maxson swayed on his feet suddenly and was caught by the synth, Nick Valentine, before he fell. Curie, another synth, came to him and helped lower him to the floor. He was feeling cold. He knew his body was going into shock now. He knew had lost a lot of blood, he remembered getting the injury. He watched detachedly as the two synths began to treat him.

Curie peeled off the Elders stealth suit exposing a deep gushing wound in his abdomen. She administered a stimpak and then another and pumped him full of Med-ex. Maxson felt his eyes grow heavy as the chems took over his system.

He worried over who would take charge… Max, where was Max? and then he was out cold

* * *

Max was gone.

Work moved forward. The Institute was secured and occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel and the Commonwealth Minutemen, the scientists and synths had been rounded up, debriefed and either reassigned or incarcerated. The SRB had been destroyed along with any remaining data on the Data Bank, much to Proctor Quinlans chagrin. He had wanted to look over the science behind the Synths, but had been overruled by his peers. The Synth Programme was dead.

Maxson was confined to the infirmary for some time with his injuries, but he kept abreast of every facet of the operation, with debriefings every morning and evening. He was a bad patient and kept on leaving the infirmary and had been found twice at the Institute conferring with Preston Garvey.

Preston and Ronnie Shaw had assumed the mantle of General jointly. Garvey was still weak from his own injuries but he was a goldmine of organisational and communication skills. Shaw was an old battleaxe. She didn't take crap from anyone including the surly Elder Maxson. They were good folks and they cared about their people and fought for every possible inch. Maxson bore the guilt of the deaths of so many of their people jadedly and gave into many of their requests. Why had he not thought to call in Brotherhood support?

In spite of their progress and great victory, everyone was a little bit lost, a little bit empty. Max was gone and no one knew where she had disappeared to.

After the Institute was taken, the Minutemen had found the body of Danse laid out peacefully next to the grave of Nate Everton on the hill above Sanctuary with a scrawled note 'Paladin Major Richard Alexander Danse, Brotherhood of Steel and the Commonwealth Minutemen. Died 2288. A Human Being'. He was buried there and a stone erected and the words 'and A Hero' were added by someone later.

But there was no sign of the Minutemen General.

She had been in her quarters that day. Her leathers, armour and her weapons were gone. She had taken a duffle from the supply cage. Food, water, stims, radiation protection, ammo and caps were taken and even noted on the appropriate clipboards in her tidy hand.

They had reports that someone that may have been her passed near the coastal cottage outpost in the east, but the settlers hadn't been sure. As soon as he was able, MacCready had gone out to see if she could be tracked. He was gone for weeks but came back resignedly and alone. No Sign… She was just gone.

Three months passed before they had any word of her.

A lone man approached the gate near dusk on a hot dusty evening. He was an older man, had the grizzled look of a tracker. He was wearing an old oilskin coat and too many layers for the hot Commonwealth day. Slung over his shoulder was a worn lever action rifle. His shoulders were slumped and he was drained. He walked with his head lowered as he dragged his feet over the bridge, his battered Stetson low over his eyes.

Preston came down the hill to meet him as he slumped in a patio chair outside the visitors house by the gate. He had a can of water hanging loosely from one hand and half a stogie charring away in the other. The old man didn't look up as Preston approached.

"Welcome to Sanctuary." Preston greeted him, talking to the top of his hat.

"Yep." The old man grunted.

"The guards said that you were sent here?"

"Yep."

Preston frowned and took the seat next to the old guy.

"Can I ask who sent you?"

"You can… the lady sent me." The old man grunted and peeked out from under his hat. "The lady with the big gun."

Preston felt a surge of hope.

"Did she give you a name?"

"Nope." He took a sip of his water and made a face, "Listen Lad, she shows up on the Island says she needs a guide… she raises all hell and then she's gone… never got no name, called her lady." The man put the cigar between his teeth and began puffing on it thoughtfully.

"She says that you all could use someone like me, so she says I should come by and make myself known. Here I am"

Preston leaned towards the old man. "Island… What Island?"

"Far Harbour." The old man supplied shortly. "Bit quiet, your girl… surly & brooding type... good in a fight though."

"Can you describe what she looked like?" Preston asked, he was sure it was her.

"Tall, dark hair, pretty as hell. Got herself a pair of eyes that'll haunt your dreams." The man tipped his hat back, looked down at his water and then looked up at Preston. "She can't drink worth a damn. I'm partial to whiskey myself."

Preston got the not so subtle hint and motioned to one of the guards to find a bottle of whiskey.

The man nodded his head "She talks in her sleep though, must like to dance… talked about dancing?"

Preston nodded. Poor Max.

"Anyhow. She went after some radio signal we picked up when we landed on the coast, told me to come here. Names Longfellow."

Preston took the old mans offered hand, "So, she's back in the commonwealth?"

"Yep, for now." Longfellow took up the whiskey bottle that had arrived on the table, nodding thanks to the gate guard who had bought it and took a long, long tug at it.

"Thanks Longfellow." Preston said. "Like I said welcome to Sanctuary. Take a few days to get acquainted with the place then we'll put you to work." Preston patted him on the shoulder and left him to his whiskey.

Max was back… but where was she now?


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: OK So, I have condensed the chapters so if you have gotten an update that I have posted a new chapter, I have actually posted two - Chapter 29 is new as well so go back and read that one first.**

 **This chapter is weird. I guess I'm going somewhere with it.. (*shrugs*).. I wrote it all, seems waste not to use it... anyhooo review if you want :)**

 **Chapter 30 – How did that Happen?**

She stood silently, looking out of the porthole, her eyes wandering the darkened wasteland below. Her mind lost in thought, a slight crinkle in her brow. She was back. She was here. Five long months had gone by and here she was, as if no time had passed at all. Where had she been?

Maxsons brain was alternating between anger that she had somehow boarded the Prydwen … again and entered his quarters undetected … again. And relief and pleasure at seeing her, still so beautiful after so long.

"Can I ask you something, Arthur?" She didn't turn towards him, she continued to gaze out of the window.

"Of course." He replied, closing his door and stepping up beside her breathing deep of the scent of her.

"Why does the Brotherhood hate ghouls?"

Maxson was unprepared for such a random question and replied automatically "They're freaks, another by-product of science gone awry."

"If you were just talking about ferals, I might agree with you. But I'm talking about the lucid ghouls, the ones who have kept their personalities and facilities intact despite everything." She didn't turn her head to look at him. "Those ghouls are hardly freaks, they're miracles of evolution. Nature working _in spite_ of what man has done. They're the ones who were able to adapt to the nuclear blasts and the radiation. They're more natural in this world than I am." She sighed, "I guess it's just another thing that I will never understand about the Brotherhood and one of the things I will have to keep fighting with you about." She gave a slight shrug to her shoulders and continued to look out the window.

"Was the purpose of this belated visit just to ask me about ghouls?" Maxson asked quietly.

"No, of course not… I was just curious to see if the Brotherhood had the ability to evolve… to maybe change it's perspective on certain things… but I guess It won't. And that's a shame." She was quiet again, her face a little sad.

Maxson raised his hand wanting to touch her, to make sure she was real and it hovered over her shoulder for a moment before he lowered it to his side again. He took a step back and turned towards his liquor cabinet.

"Can I order you a cup of coffee?" He asked as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"No thank you, Arthur." She replied, her back still to the room. Maxson was confused by her. She seemed to have no purpose in being here. Why go to the trouble of breaking in just to stand at the porthole and talk about ghouls. Was she going to ask about Danse? Had she even been to Sanctuary?

He carried his glass over to stand next to her again. He was not sure what he should do. Her mood was pensive and she didn't seem to want to engage in their usual conversation. He stood next to her as quiet as she and looked out at the wasteland hoping to find insight into what she was doing here.

Her hand reached out and took the whiskey glass from his hand. She bought the glass to her lips and drained the liquor in one before handing the empty vessel back to him. He looked down that the glass and then back up to her face in profile.

"I thought that you didn't drink spirits?" Maxson asked with a frown.

"Under normal circumstances, I don't." She replied. She still wouldn't look at him. "My centuries old metabolism doesn't cope well with the liquor of today… I will regret that later." The corner of her mouth twitched upwards in the ghost of a smile.

"I'm so tired of fighting." She whispered wearily, her eyes focused on the distance. "So tired of losing people I care about. I just want a few moments of ..." her voice trailed off.

Maxson raised his hand again and this time he rested it on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly at the touch and raised her enchanting green eyes to meet his.

"Max. Sit down, we can talk a while." He said quietly.

He was startled when she turned towards him, reached out her own hand and ran a soft finger along the scar on his cheek, from just under his right eye and down into his beard. He held his breath as she did it. It was like he'd been seared by the light touch. She didn't look into his eyes as she touched his face but focused on the passage of her finger, her brow furrowed and her soft lips parted ever so slightly. Maxson held himself rigid, not sure what to do.

"What did this?" She asked, her voice distant as she continued her intimate inspection of his face.

"Deathclaw." He answered shortly, his voice struggling to remain steady in the onslaught of sensations rushing through him. He wasn't sure what he should be doing. How he should respond. Her mood was preoccupied, her touch intimate but somehow distant.

"I have a Deathclaw scar as well." She mused almost to herself. "Not where you can see it though."

"Where is it?" He asked softly.

"It's on my arse." The small ghost of a smile glinted to life again before disappearing just as quickly.

Her finger continued to travel over his face, her eyes followed its course. It moved over his brow and came to rest on the scar over his left eye and then travelled down its length. He closed his eye for a second as it brushed his eyelid following the scar onto his left cheek.

"And this one?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper now.

He couldn't get his brain to focus on the answer… how did he get that scar? He had not even noticed how loudly his heart was pounding and how his breath was coming in deep huffs. He was transfixed by her.

She didn't wait for an answer. Her finger continued its downward traverse and came to rest, this time on his lips. He watched her tongue slide across her bottom lip, moistening it. Maxson swayed forwards and Max tipped her face back ever so slightly coming up on her tip toes to replace her finger with her lips.

She had kissed him before, on the cheek. On the lips when he had given her the tin of coffee... but this kiss was much different from those. This one was a sensual question… Is this right? She asked him.

Hell yes! It's right, his lips answered. His arm snaked around her hips and drew her close to him, the other around her neck holding her lips to his, his fingers bunching in her hair. She made a low groan and wrapped her arms around his neck. The room around them became hazy and indistinct as they began to lose themselves in each other but Maxson was snapped back to reality when he felt the weight of his battle coat leave his shoulders and fall to the floor driven by Maxs suddenly eager hands. Her quick fingers unfastened the buckle on the neck of his flight suit and fumbled with the zipper.

Was this actually happening? Should he tell her?

She eased the jumpsuit off his shoulders slowly baring his chest and abdomen. His hands stopped hers before she could remove any more of his clothing.

"I have to tell you something...' He breathed unsteadily, seeking out her eyes. The look she gave him in return was questioning. Her green eyes dark and her soft lips were swollen and glistening from the ardour of their kissing.

"I haven't been intimate with a woman…ever. Never had the time nor occasion to… uhh…" The tough and stoic Arthur Maxson was, probably for the first time in his life, lost for words.

Her lips hitched on one side and her eyes blazed in sudden amusement.

"The leader of the Brotherhood of Steel is a virgin?" She established slowly. "That actually explains a lot." Her eyes trailed down his hard chest and lean, rippling stomach and then drifted back up to his face. "Do you want to stop?"

"Not at all." He said quickly, "I just thought, if this is going where it seems to be… in case I seemed tentative… about anything..." He held her eyes.

Virgin or not he was still a self-assured young man but this was a vulnerable position to be in. He didn't want her to see a groping boy, but a strong, sure leader of men, the man she deserved.

He wanted this woman more than he wanted anything, but he also didn't want to disappoint her. If he 'stumbled' on the first effort, her wanted her to know that it was due to inexperience and that it would get better with expert guidance, like with any new skill.

Max had to check herself. Remind herself that he was only twenty years old… twenty one now? A fact that one could forget when he was well over six foot tall, scarred from battle and radiating with charisma and power.

What was she doing here? Why had she come _here_?

"I'm not sure if I'm OK with deflowering virgins." She mused. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I sort of forgot that you're a decade my junior… two centuries and two decades in real time."

She made to walk past the Elder, to leave, but his hand whipped out and caught hold of her arm.

"Don't go." It was an order.

Max looked up into his startlingly blue eyes. "Please." He added ruefully.

He was used to issuing orders not begging women to stay the night with him. And while begging was completely out of the question, he hoped he could convey the sense of desire for her that he felt. He needed her, even now after so long, everything he felt for her before was not only back but enhanced. Just seeing her in his quarters again was enough to make his heart thump out of control.

He was standing there. Naked from the waist up, his jumpsuit hanging from his hips, the dim light from the lone lamp shimmering off every ridge of taut muscle across his abdomen. Max paused, he was an alluring sight. She nibbled her lip in indecision.

He ultimately made the decision for her, he pulled her to him, crushing his mouth to hers and enveloping her in his massive arms.

* * *

"So how is it that you have never… you know, 'partaken' of the ladies before?" Max asked lazily. She leaned back into the young Elders bare chest. She was seated quite comfortably in between his firm thighs as he in turn, sat with his back against the pillows of his bed, cradling her against him.

"There was one time… I was sixteen and a pretty scribe broke into my quarters. She was removed before it went anywhere interesting and I was watched quite closely after that. I guess they didn't want the Maxson seed to be planted in less exalted ground than it was deserving." Maxson ran his hand up and down her bare arm, revelling in the softness of her skin. "and then there was just no time available to even think about it, let alone partake."

He pressed his lips to the side of her neck. 'And I'm the Elder now. It wouldn't be seemly for me to consort with the lower ranks… and they are _all_ lower ranks."

"Lonely at the top ... huh?" Max snorted suddenly "Less exalted… Ha." She turned her head to catch his eye. "I'm hungry... are you hungry?"

She was off the bed in an instant and wrapping herself in his battle coat. It was way too big for her and hung down well below her knees. She secured the belt and before he could think to stop her she was out the door.

Maxson made a strangled kind of sound. She was out on the main deck of the Prydwen, wearing nothing but his coat… what was she thinking? Should he go after her? If he went chasing after her then everyone would know what they had been up to… He shook his head, like they wouldn't know when she showed up in the mess dressed like that. What time was it? Oh, by the steel, it was change of watch. He put his head in his hands and waited.

* * *

The mess duty officer looked up when the quiet descended on the room. The watch had just changed over and the knights who had just come off duty were gathered for a quick snack or drink before they headed to bed for some well earned rest. It was normally a little rowdy so the sudden silence was very peculiar.

He watched in open mouthed shock as the General of the Commonwealth Minutemen, her long dark hair loose and dishevelled, wandered casually into the mess hall. The most outrageous thing about her was that she was wearing Elder Maxsons Battle Coat and what was most likely nothing else considering her bare calves and feet. The gathered knights stared at her in incredulous awe.

"Hey" She said brightly, addressing the mess officer. "You wouldn't happen to have any coffee handy?"

The mess officer just stared at her.

"Heelloooo?" She said after a minute of awkward silence.

"Uhhh… yes ma'am." The officer scrambled around the counter for a clean coffee cup and filled it with shaky hands.

"Also, is there anything good to eat?" Max added.

Again with the staring and silence.

Max placed her hand on the counter and tapped her fingers meaningfully.

"We… we have, uuhhh, mole rat stew and a haunch of roasted Yao Guai. "

She screwed up her nose. "Naaah… you have anything more, you know, snacky?"

He ducked under the counter for a moment and popped back up with a tube of potato crisps, a box of Dandy Boy Apples and weirdly, a can of dog food. Max looked down at the can and then looked up into the eyes of the officer her eyebrow arched. He swiped the can off the counter sheepishly.

She gathered up the coffee and snacks, gave the mess officer a wide winning smile of thanks before turning and sauntering back towards the front of the ship.

The mess remained silent for a beat or two after she had gone and then erupted into loud chatter… 'What the Fuck just happened?' seemed to be the most popular remark.

Max heard them as she strolled back to the Elders quarters and she smiled to herself as she put her hand on the door handle and re-entered the room.

Maxson was pacing by his bed. He had pulled on a pair of briefs and was stalking back and forth like a caged animal. He looked up when she stepped over the threshold and with long strides was then pressing her up against the wall, his hands clamped on her biceps.

"What did you think you were doing?" He grated, his impossibly blue eyes flashing with frustration.

"I was getting coffee and snacks." She answered with wide eyed innocence.

Maxson let go of her arms and ran his hand raggedly through his hair.

"By the Steel woman, are you trying to humiliate me?" Maxson ground out.

Maxs eyes went instantly cold. "I'm sorry... what? Did you just say that? Did you seriously just imply that you _condescending_ to have sex with me is _humiliating_ to you."

Maxsons eyes opened wide in chagrin and he opened his mouth to speak. He was swiftly shut down with a solid shove against his chest as Max pushed passed him.

She dropped his coat to the floor and started gathering up her clothes and armour as hastily as she could. She was half dressed by the time he could think to respond.

"Don't you even think about speaking to me right now." She shut him down again, as soon as she heard him draw breath to speak. She glared daggers at him from across the room and he seemed to lose his powers of speech, remembering the awesome closing act of her battle in the Institute, what she was capable of. The next thing he knew she was dressed and wrenching open the door to his berth.

She stomped out into the corridor and slid down the ladder to the command deck below.

"Hey, you." She accosted the first person she saw. "Are you a Lancer?"

The young man gaped at her open mouthed, before nodding jerkily.

"Take me to the ground." She demanded rudely.

The poor young guy looked over his shoulder at the rest of the crew on duty for support.

"Take me to the FUCKING GROUND!" She roared.

The lancer weighed his options in his head as quickly as he could. A week of KP from Kells for taking a Vertibird without permission, versus what looked to be death by furious Minuteman General.

"Yes, Ma'am." He snapped a salute and followed her onto the flight deck.

Maxson heard it all from the deck above. He slammed his hand into his forehead. He had her... he had everything he wanted... and then he fucked it up.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 – Round up**

Max wandered through the gates of Sanctuary in the early morning. She didn't want a big hullabaloo so she waved the guards away and told them not to trouble the vault. She knew the way and everyone would find out she was back sooner or later.

She trudged up the hill and stepped onto the elevator platform. Her eye was drawn to the monument on the hill. He was up there, she'd go up and see him after she got some sleep. She was weary from the road and it wasn't like he was going anywhere… not anymore.

She made her way to her quarters. The door softly wooshed open in the predawn and the lights came up automatically. She stopped in the doorway and looked down at the folded Brotherhood jumpsuit sitting on top of her trunk, right where he had left it.

She entered the room closing the door behind her and took a seat on the bed. She took off her boots. She lay down her weapons and lay herself down on the bed.

That switch that she had in her head was still working fine.

She woke to the smell of hot coffee. She kept her eyes closed and just inhaled a few times. She knew without opening her eyes that there were people in her room. And a robot. And a dog.

She cracked open one eye and let it dart around the room. Preston, MacCready, Sturges and Haylen. Codsworth. And Dogmeat.

"Geez, can't lady get a little shut eye around here." She drawled.

"Where have you been?" Preston started in on her immediately. "Five months, Max. FIVE Months..? Some old guy shows up and says he's been with you. We think, right she's back, but then another month goes by and then another… where have you been?"

"Good, Longfellow made it… he's a trip, right?" She sat up and accepted her coffee from Codsworth. She touched him fondly on his dome before taking a sip.

They were all looking at her disapprovingly. Accept Dogmeat, whose tongue lolled from his head and she could hear the steady thump-thump-thump of his wagging tail hitting the floor.

"So… I heard we won… Yay us!" She sipped her coffee again.

"You won, Max… We all saw it…" Preston was looking hard at her. He was trying to figure out what was up with her. She seemed like she was before the night at the Institute. Chirpy and upbeat, no hint of sadness or grief. The terror evoking rage that everyone saw that night was gone.

Max grimaced and shook her head. "OK. Let me gather myself… have a shower and get dressed and then I'll tell you what I've been up to." She went on to sip her coffee and pointedly ignore them. They all filed out, except MacCready who lit up a cigarette and leaned against the door frame looking over at her lazily.

"Not sure if you knew it, boss, but Cait is dead. Died in the Institute." He said quietly. "In case you were wondering why she wasn't in here too." He saw the shadow pass over her face but it went away again just as fast. "We … _I_ get why you needed the space… but you should have a little more faith in us… We were here for you. Anyway, glad you're back… can't wait to hear about your adventures."

He strolled into the office and out into the corridor beyond. Max took a long drink of her coffee, let the hot liquid scorch her throat and she closed her eyes… Maybe that switch wasn't working quite so well after all.

* * *

She apologised for her long absence… her selfishness in leaving them in the lurch like she had. She recounted the previous five months to them in detail and answered all of their questions openly.

She had run. Plain and simple. Run from the pain, run from what she was.

She told her closest friends everything, full disclosure. Her past, her training, her magic switch which, the night Danse died, stopped working and unleashed all of the rage, fury, pain and torment that her mind had kept locked away for so many years. Danse had said that he would be there to hold her when it happened, but he wasn't.

They listened and accepted it all. It all made sense after all.

She told them of her travels to Far Harbour. Three months on a spooky island trying to keep her mind off what she was leaving behind. But it hadn't worked, she had wanted to come home. She would have been there sooner but she got a radio signal from a stricken caravan. She had sent Longfellow ahead and gone to help, her instincts still honed to protecting the people of the Commonwealth. As General, she had finally found and accepted her place. It felt right now and she was home for good.

They were catching her up on what had been happening in her absence when a gate guard jogged into the common area. They all looked up at Eli Hastings.

"What is the point of having a radio, if there's never anyone to answer it?" He asked in an exasperated tone. He looked at all of the Sanctuary brass sitting around the table accusingly.

"Brotherhood Vertibird inbound… and CIT are trying to get you too." He glared at everyone at the table and then stalked out of the room. Eli was notoriously unfond of running.

Max groaned to herself.

Maxson. What had she done? Why had she gone to the Prydwen? Why had she slept with the young leader? He was very hot and was a very fast learner… a very, very fast learner, but it was a mistake to become involved like that. Seeking companionship was one thing but she had crossed a line. There was no future there. They were too different.

She got resignedly to her feet. Time to face the music.

"I'll take Maxson, you take CIT." Max said to Preston drearily. CIT was the new/old name for the Institute. Dr Li and Dr Virgil were now in charge of the facility.

"How do you know it's Maxson?" Preston asked, intrigued by the look on her face.

"I just know…" She sighed.

He was walking up the hill towards the vault when she saw him. He saw her and his footsteps faltered for a moment.

She was beautiful. No armour today… the only other time he had seen her in anything other than armour was when she was in the tight fitting stealth suit. He had almost swallowed his tongue when he had seen her in that get up. He had seen her in a lot less since, it was burned into his brain and his fingers twitched with the need to touch her. Now she was in a tiny pair of cut off shorts and a tee shirt knotted at the navel. There was an awful lot of flawless skin showing. A bit too much for him to keep his countenance. The look she was giving him though, gave him pause. She was wary.

"General Everton. I'm glad to see that you made it home in good order." He spoke formally, falling back into old patterns with ease. Treat it like one of their meetings, she will start to tease him soon and all would be well.

"Was there any doubt, Elder?"

"No, of course not." He took a breath and lowered his voice. There was no one near them but this didn't seem like the type of discussion that one should have out in the open. He wasn't sure, he'd never initiated this type of discussion before. "I wanted to apologise to you…"

She grabbed his arm and lead him roughly off the path and into the trees. He went along with her. If they were going to fight, best not do it on front of everyone in Sanctuary.

She came to a stop outside of an old abandoned shack, buried in undergrowth and turned to him.

"Let me say this first." She started, letting go of his arm and stepping away from him. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I may have very well ruined the alliance between the Brotherhood and the Minutemen by crossing a boundary that should not have been crossed. And I think I hurt you too, which I am really sorry about. I was looking for something and I don't think I found it … with you."

She took a deep breath to continue but Maxson stepped up to her to stop her speaking.

"No." He shook his head and frowned. "No, it wasn't a mistake and we didn't cross an uncrossable boundary. I loved you the moment that you first walked onto my command deck, the first time you spoke to me, the first time you called me by my first name."

"Woah there, kid" She stepped back from him, her back hitting the wall of the shack. "Who ever said anything about love?" This conversation was not going in a comfortable direction at all.

"I know that you don't love me in return." He took another step towards her. "…Not yet. I know you had feelings for Danse and you need to grieve for him. But I am a patient man, despite evidence to the contrary and I will wait for you. However long it takes."

"See…" She grated, "this is why I was against the whole virginity thing…. Geez kid…"

"Stop that! You keep calling me that … Kid… Boy … I am a man." He ran his hand down the side of her face.

She froze as his warm fingers moulded to the contours of her cheek and jaw.

"I reacted badly." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I was… am… not prepared to deal with this sort of thing. It wasn't one of the lessons that they taught at the Citadel. I'm sorry for disrupting our evening… more sorry than you can imagine." His expression turned rueful, "But I'll accept it. I will wait for you to trust me again."

Max pursed her lips and cocked her head to one side.

"It won't work Arthur. We are too different… You are Brotherhood and to be quite frank, I don't believe what you believe. You guys treat your codex like a religion and it doesn't work for me... some of it is downright abhorrent to me. So, I honestly think this…" She waved her hand back and forward between them, "is doomed from the start. I don't want to string you along. I certainly don't want to hurt you…"

"I've changed my mind." He interrupted. "About a few things. Danse was reinstated back into the Brotherhood, posthumously and will be remembered as the hero that he was. Curie, your synth, saved my life. I have declared that, with no more synths being manufactured, the ones in hiding shouldn't be actively sought out. I invited …" He clenched his jaw. "I invited Mayor Hancock onto the Prydwen."

Max grinned. Hancock had a mouth on him. It must have been a real trial for the Elder to have, not only a ghoul on his precious boat, but a smart mouthed arsehole as well.

"I hope you checked your pockets after that." She chuckled.

He ignored that. "I will prove that the Brotherhood can evolve. And then …" He left it hanging there and changed the subject. "Walk with me to the vertibird, I have something for you."

He held out his hand to her. She took it and he led her back to the path to Sanctuary.

"Another gift? Is it more coffee?" She asked hopefully.

"No."

"Is it… a coat like yours?"

"No."

He let go of her hand as they reached the path and she trailed behind him down the hill, thinking of the possible items that he could have gotten her. They reached the Vertibird and Max waited patiently as he grabbed a not unsubstantial box from the cockpit.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I was here after we discovered that Danse was a Synth?" He asked, handing the box over to her. He nodded his head towards the bridge where they had faced off.

She opened the tattered box and peered inside. She looked up at the austere leader of the Brotherhood of Steel in surprise and reached into the box and lifted out an intact Giddy-up Buttercup. She bit her lip.

"You got me a Pony…" she whispered.

"I just wanted you to know that sometimes… we _do_ get what we want."

 **Epilogue – What's to come… 2 Month Later.**

He could feel the tension as soon as he stepped through the gate of the settlement. The guards had looked at him in surprise… shock even, as they ushered him through. He could feel his companion tense up behind him.

The populous were all staring at him. They weren't unfriendly, but they stared like he had suddenly sprouted arms out of his chest and had started doing jazz hands. People were even coming out of their well maintained houses to gape at him. He knew his buddy would not be happy with the scrutiny. He was grim at the best of times but this kind of attention would be putting him in a real foul mood.

The people were whispering to each other behind their hands, some were even pointing at them… what the hell was wrong with these people?

He walked on towards the hill that the gate guards had stammeringly pointed him towards, trying hard to ignore the commotion that he and his companion were unwittingly stirring up.

They were met at the base of the hill by a medium height black man, dressed old pre war colonial grab... Pre wars, lots of wars. It was weird.

The black guys mouth dropped open at the sight of him and he blinked a few times like he was seeing things and he needed them to be gone. He shook his head as if clearing his vision and stepped forward hesitantly.

"I'm Colonel Preston Garvey of the Commonwealth Minutemen." He welcomed them haltingly.

The newcomer looked back at his companion, who was adjusting his beret and hitching his rifle up onto his shoulder. They both shrugged at each other and turned back to the Colonel.

"Colonel." He nodded. "I have a message for a General Max Everton. I'm to relay that message to him and him alone."

Preston nodded "The General is not in residence at the moment, but is due back any day. You can stay there." He pointed to a refurbished house near the gate. "It's vacant at the moment so pick any bed you want. Make yourselves at home and welcome to Sanctuary"

The duo nodded their thanks and turned towards the house. Sensing every eye in the settlement on them, they made their way warily over to their accommodation and stepped inside, letting out twin breaths as they shut the door behind them.

"What the fuck?" Boone breathed, taking off his aviators and staring at his friend.

"I … do we look different to them? Do I have something on my face?" The Courier asked uncertainly, turning his head for Boone to see.

"No, you don't…" Boone shook his head in wonder.

"They weren't angry or scared… what do you think it was?

Boone shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room they were in.

"Nice place though." He commented.

The Courier looked around as well. The house looked almost old world. They were in a fully furnished and decorated living area and through in a small alcove was a fully equipped kitchen. The hall would have led to the sleeping quarters. He nodded, if it weren't for the unsettling welcome, this place would be nice.

"I'm not sharing a room with you unless I have to." Boone stated, hitching his rifle up and walking out of the room.

The Courier followed and deposited his rifle on the bed in the first room he came to, along with his backpack. He could hear Boone through the wall in the next room doing the same.

They were fast to stow their gear in their rooms and were soon looking around the house and settling in for however long it would take to deliver their message so they could leave again. If the General got back tonight, they would leave in the morning.

It was Boones turn to cook, so The Courier sat on the easy chair with his feet up on the coffee table reading an Unstoppables comic he had found in between the cushions of the sofa. Boone hated cooking and there was the usual forbidding silence that accompanied him doing that particular task. The Courier smiled to himself in the dark lull. Boone was too uptight.

He looked up from his reading when he heard raised voices coming from outside the house near the gate.

"Why in gods name do you have to pounce on me as soon as I step through the fucking gate?" It was a womans voice and she sounded pretty pissed. "Fuck, Preston! Let me get my breath at least."

There was a muted reply that he couldn't hear properly. It was followed by a long silence and then a loud knock on the door.

The Courier got up from his chair and walked to the door to open it. Boone poked his head from out of the kitchen to see what the fuss was about.

He opened the door and looked out to find the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen standing there.

She was encased in leather armour, her long dark hair secured in a scruffy bun as she tucked a black combat helmet under her arm. She had a massive .50 cal rifle on her back and a suppressed 10mm pistol at her hip. She had the most amazing translucent skin and a pair of magnificent green eyes. Eyes that were now wide with shock.

Her lips parted and she drew in her breath sharply as she registered his face.

"D-Dance?" She breathed the word, her voice stuttering and dying on her lips.

"Huh?" The Courier asked confused, before she leaped at him securing her arms around his neck in a vice grip and kissing him with shuddering intensity.

 **AN: I will soon be starting my next story… might see you soon.**

 **AN: Edit: New story is well & truly underway now, check it out if you feel so inclined. **Post-Apocalyptic Roadtrip - Another Story from the Fallout


End file.
